Lubrication

Glossary

Properly functioning lubrication places many demands on the design and the care of the user. Lubrication is often indispensable. It ensures that plain bearings run smoothly, prevents temperature increases due to friction, as well as corrosion and dirt entry. The range of fats, oils, waxes and solid lubricants available is diverse.

The lubricant has to fulfill a variety of tasks at the friction point. These tasks are:

Ensuring power transmission
Reducing energy loss (mech. energy) or increasing mechanical efficiency
Reduction of wear and tear
Improving heat dissipation (cooling)
Protection against corrosion
Preventing contamination from penetrating from outside
Vibration dampening

If necessary, we recommend using air-curing anti-friction varnishes for assembly. Assembly pastes or greases generally inhibit the self-lubrication of dry lubricants because the oil they contain wets the surfaces and thus prevents the buildup of a functional transfer film. Greases also bind wear particles and keep them in bearing contact. Depending on the quality of the assembly paste, the bearing can wear out more quickly than in pure dry running.

Metallic bearings can be lubricated. However, it should be noted that the same mechanisms work here as with the previously described assembly paste, so regular relubrication is important. Lubrication can greatly increase service life, but this depends on the lubricant and the lubrication interval. Sintered plain bearings store lubricant due to their porosity and can therefore achieve a longer service life than conventional cast materials. The dry lubricant also helps as emergency running lubrication.

Although Deva sliding parts do not require external lubrication to maintain function, most of them are insensitive to the addition of lubricants due to their structure. Experience has shown that additional lubrication is generally only necessary at high sliding speeds to support the dissipation of frictional heat. In centrifugal pumps e.g. B. the conveyed goods take on this task. If there is no cooling of the conveyed goods, this task can be taken over by a depot or economical lubrication system.

Whether additional lubrication with grease or oil is beneficial must be decided on a case-by-case basis, as many factors have an influence.

Operating experience shows that when using economical lubrication, only pure liquids or greases of suitable quality should be used. Oils or fats enriched with solid lubricants should not be used. In practice, it has been shown that the proportion of solid lubricant in the sliding parts is completely sufficient and solid lubricants supplied cannot perform the same tasks, but only lead to disruptions in the exchange of solid lubricants between the sliding parts.

Lubrication of plastic composite sliding bearings is generally not recommended unless permitted in the material data sheet. Depending on the load spectrum, additional lubrication of the purely self-lubricating composite plain bearings can lead to increased wear, stick-slip or, in the case of high, changing loads, to delamination. Only bearings designed for this purpose are permitted.

Lubrication of DEVA sliding bearings

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