Machinery Lubrication

ML_Jan_Feb_Digital_Edtion

Machinery Lubrication magazine published by Noria Corporation

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ver the past 15 years, it has been stated numerous times in Machinery Lubrica- tion that new oil is not clean oil, and yet while visiting 12 different plants during the last six months, I discovered that not a single one of them was sampling lubricants upon receipt. Since many of these organiza- tions filter their oils before placing them into service, they probably think this addi- tional step doesn't matter. However, though filtering oil will remove dirt and particles, there is so much more that could be wrong with the oils you are putting into your machines. For the sake of your plant's reli- ability, please read this article and heed the recommendations that it offers. What Is Your Acceptable Quality Limit? In statistical process control, the term "acceptable quality limit" (AQL) refers to the worst tolerable process average that is still considered acceptable. According to Wikipedia, this is "a test and/or inspection standard that prescribes the range of the number of defective components that is considered acceptable when random sampling those components during an inspection." These defects generally fall into three categories: critical, major and minor. The manufacturer usually determines which defects fall into which category. What are your product quality controls? Is your AQL 95, 97 or 99.5 percent? Consider that the world's largest oil producer has reported production rates of 241,668,000 gallons of oil per day. Even with a 99.9-percent AQL, this means that 241,668 gallons of oil produced daily would have some sort of defect. Over the course of a year, this would total more than 88 million gallons of defective oil. While I'm not alleging that oil companies are producing millions of gallons of oil that is out of specification, it is a possibility. Of course, you can't know for certain if you don't sample and test your oil upon receipt. Sampling and Testing New Oils Hopefully, you now understand why you should be sampling and testing new oils, but how can you do this? Most of the issues that occur are related to the oil's viscosity, as opposed to the base oil type or additive mixtures, but this does not discount the benefit of a full quality test slate. Let's begin by discussing the simplest tests that can be performed and then move to the more complex. Viscosity A viscosity comparison is one of the easiest tests to perform. Many viscometers can also provide quick results, which is O O i l A n a l y s i s WHY and HOW to Test New OIL DELIVERIES PERSPECTIVE L oren Green | Nori a Corpor at ioN 36 | January - February 2017 | www.machinerylubrication.com The possibility of receiving the wrong oil or lubricants that do not meet the required specifications is very real.

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