abrasive debris. Another is outside and
battles moisture and heavily abrasive
debris. Under ideal conditions, this type of
bearing would need just more than an
ounce of grease every 2,828 hours.
However, since it sees light abrasive dust,
we need to adjust the correction factors.
This slow-moving bearing has a speed of
120 revolutions per minute with a
74.6125-millimeter bore diameter. Based
on the correction factors, which are repre-
sented in the equation as K, the interval
should be reduced to 1,131 hours. If water
is introduced into the equation with heavily
abrasive dust and the correction factors are
adjusted accordingly, the relubrication time
drops to 56 hours. Thus, even though it is
the same bearing, you cannot make a
blanket statement that it requires the same
amount of grease. From this example, it is
easy to see why some people think bearings
need lots of grease.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The advancement of new technology
enables you to fine-tune your lubrication
program. Two such technologies are ultra-
sound and vibration analysis. How does
listening to a bearing in a noisy environment
help you with lubrication? How can feeling
a bearing with all those other machines
chugging along tell you anything?
Ultrasound is high-frequency sound that
is above the range of normal human
hearing. Typical applications for ultrasound
include air and gas leak detection; electrical
inspections to detect corona, tracking and
arching; steam traps; and mechanical
inspection of rotating equipment, including
condition-based lubrication.
Vibration analysis is another tech-
nology that can enhance your lube
It is n ever too l ate to start your
cultura l transformation. In fact, you
should start today. Just pace yourself.
The road a head is a long one.
ML
