INDUSTRIAL LUBRICANTS

Industrial Lubricants are manufactured to precise specification for use in a wide variety of applications. The characteristics and composition of lubricants are described here in general terms. When selecting a lubricant, a good source of information is the manufacturers’ product data sheets which are usually available on the internet. 

Lubricants are generally divided into two categories, Oil and Grease. Several organizations such as SAE, AGMA, and NLGI to name a few, have established standards for each of these categories.  These standards describe a measurement of specific characteristics of a material on a uniform scale.

Oil: A slippery liquid that is insoluble in water and used for lubrication. Oils can be identified by one or several of their characteristics.  The four most common are:

• Oil Viscosity - Resistance to flow (pour-ability). How thick the oil is.
  
  
• Performance Additives - Additives to increase the oils performance, such as,            EP (Extreme Pressure), AW (Anti-Wear), MP (Multi-Purpose) …
  
  
• Applications - Oils designed for specific applications like Gear oils, Compressor Oils, Way oils, Chain oils, Hydraulic oils, Food Processing oils….
  
  
• Origin – Mineral, Vegetable or Synthetic oil.

Grease: Oil or other lubricating fluid with performance thickeners added, usually called soaps, to create a higher viscosity lubricant.  The thickeners are added to help keep the oils in contact with the surfaces needing lubrication. Greases can also be identified by one or several of their characteristics.

• Worked Penetration – The test used to determine the consistency of grease by seeing how far a standard cone will penetrate the grease at 25°C for 5 seconds. Greases are subject to an established test method and are given a NLGI rating ranging from 0000 through 6.  The higher the rating the thicker the grease.
  
  
• Base Oil Viscosity – Resistance to flow (pour-ability). Because the oil is the primary lubricant in grease, the oil viscosity is an important factor to consider when choosing grease for your application.
  
  
• Base Thickeners – Most grease is made up of a base oils, thickeners and additives.  There are several common thickeners used today, such as Lithium, Lithium Complex, Polyurea, Calcium, Aluminum Complex, Bentonite, etc.  Each thickener has its own characteristics and is used for different applications.  Not all thickeners are compatible with each other, so when changing lubricants from one type thickener to another, the old grease should be flushed out.
  
  
• Performance Additives - Additives to increase the grease performance, such as, graphite, molybdenum disulfide, Teflon, EP (Extreme Pressure)…
  
  
• Operating Temperature – The temperature range at which grease was designed to lubricate.  Selection of a lubricant with an operating temperature appropriate for your application is very important.  If the grease exceeds its dropping point the grease will liquefy and escape the application.
  
• Applications – Some greases are manufactured for specific applications or industries, such as Food Grade greases, Electrical Contact greases, Open Gear grease, General Industrial etc.

The technical specifications and intended uses of lubricants are generally described in the manufacturers’ product data sheets. We encourage you to contact their technical help centers directly for proper lubricant selection for your specific application.

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