Grease degradation diagnosis technology
April 2024
Motion Control & Drives
NSK is developing a world-first, a high-accuracy way of rapidly and accurately diagnosing the remaining life of lubricant grease. The company will provide the solution as a mobile app, enabling users to perform the onsite analysis of lubricant condition in bearings and linear motion systems. This innovative capability will reduce the need for grease inspection and replenishment costs, and help companies implement condition-based maintenance strategies. NSK is currently seeking customer input and feedback ahead of launching its new app.
A broad spread of machinery and equipment, from machine tools to railcars, utilise grease-lubricated products like bearings, ball screws, and linear guides. However, grease degrades over time as machinery operates, so onsite lubricant inspection is vital to help maximise uptime and overall equipment effectiveness. In recent years, more companies are switching their equipment maintenance strategy from time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. A need therefore exists for a grease degradation diagnosis method capable of rapid and highly accurate deployment on site. Such an app would also help combat labour shortages, and support carbon neutrality efforts.
Existing high-accuracy diagnosis methods rely on laboratory analysis, but this comes with high cost, a lack of suitability for onsite use, and a long wait for results. Visual observation or densitometer methods are thus more common, but suffer from low accuracy. As a consequence, many companies replenish lubricant unnecessarily early to ensure stable operation, resulting in wasteful grease usage.
With these thoughts in mind, NSK set about developing a far more convenient, cost-effective, fast and accurate method of grease degradation diagnosis. Importantly, the new NSK app can analyse the level of lubricant degradation using just a small sample of grease. Chemical changes to the base oil and additives of the grease occur due to heat from operation and oxidation with the passage of time. These chemical changes cause the molecular structure of the lubricant to change and absorb more short-wavelength light, affecting its colour. Grease itself starts off white when new, turning yellow or orange with use and eventually becoming black, which indicates zero remaining life. The NSK app quantifies grease by its colour to calculate remaining life. NSK has a 40+ year history of in-house grease development, allowing the company to base its new grease degradation diagnosis technology on a deep understanding of the chemical composition of lubricants.
Further reading:
New motion platform for tube laser processing
Motion Control & Drives
Aerotech has announced the LaserTurn280, a motion platform for laser machining of cylindrical medical device components, offering calibrated accuracy of plus or minus 1 micrometre and designed for integration into high-volume production lines.
Read more...
Functional safety in modern factory automation
Motion Control & Drives
Functional safety in modern factory automation allows machines to operate at controlled speeds or hold axes at standstill rather than shutting down entirely. Kollmorgen’s Safe Motion monitor software now supports additional safety-rated encoder protocols, extending these capabilities to precision and linear motion applications.
Read more...
Sinamics G210 versatile drive for continuous motion applications
Motion Control & Drives
Siemens has expanded its drive portfolio with the Sinamics G210, a versatile converter for continuous motion applications that combines motor openness with modular hardware, software options and flexible communication on a scalable OEM platform.
Read more...
Trends and outlook for actuators in humanoid motion
Motion Control & Drives
The humanoid robotics industry is shifting from prototype development to early commercial adoption, with electric actuators dominating current designs and materials innovation set to define next-generation hardware. IDTechEx forecasts a 47% compound annual growth rate for humanoid unit sales over the next decade.
Read more...
Specialist girder frame trailer solves challenging transformer delivery
Motion Control & Drives
Mammoet used its high-capacity girder frame trailer to transport an oversized Hitachi Energy transformer 130?km by road from Ludvika to Köping Port in Sweden, then completed a RoRo transfer to a heavy-lift vessel bound for China.
Read more...
SEW-EURODRIVE to exhibit energy-efficient automation at Propak Cape
SEW-EURODRIVE
Motion Control & Drives
SEW-EURODRIVE will showcase its MOVI-C modular automation portfolio at Propak Cape, demonstrating how integrated drive and automation technologies can help processing and packaging companies reduce energy consumption and improve production consistency.
Read more...
XPlanar aids innovation in laser processing
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
Aalborg University is among the first in the world to test Beckhoff’s XPlanar intelligent transport system in advanced laser processes, achieving micrometer-precise workpiece positioning and dramatically shorter lead times compared with traditional tool-based manufacturing.
Read more...
Sinamics G210X for advanced pump, fan and compressor applications
Siemens South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
Siemens has introduced the Sinamics G210X, a frequency converter for pump, fan and compressor applications combining easy engineering, IP55 protection and integrated S2 system redundancy for reliable operation in demanding infrastructure environments.
Read more...
Pittsburgh’s Commercial Street Bridge replaced in under 24 hours
Motion Control & Drives
Mammoet used specialist skidding equipment to slide a 10?000 ton replacement bridge into position on Pittsburgh’s Commercial Street in a single day shift, cutting what would have been four years of traffic disruption to just 17 days of closure.
Read more...
Managing inertia, loads and speed in modern linear motion systems
Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
Motion Control & Drives
BMG, through its partnership with Rollon, supplies advanced linear motion systems for high-load, high-speed robotics and automation applications. Specialist guidance on inertia, mechanical stress and cantilevered loading helps engineers select the right solution for demanding environments.
Read more...
printer friendly version