By Frank Mowka
Applications Engineer
FAG Bearings Corp., Danbury, CT
Automatic lubricators can be installed on most applications that require greasing maintenance. Here, a worker adjusts the lubricator on a honing machine for bearing manufacture.
Nearly 90% of all bearings are lubricated with grease and 80% of all bearing failures are lubrication-related. Therefore, a crucial aspect of preventive maintenance is ensuring that bearings are maintained at proper lubrication levels, with adequate grease to help keep out water, dust and other contaminants. But it's as important to understand how much and how often a lubricant should be delivered as it is to know the type.
Unfortunately, in many applications proper lubrication is not a high priority. This is often due to bearing inaccessibility or because bearings cannot be lubricated until the equipment stops operating. At the same time, grease amounts - both over-greasing and under-greasing - are also potential causes of bearing failures.
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