Bearing Lubrication 4.0: Autonomous and Smart lubrication assisted by ultrasound
It is estimated that 60-80% of bearing failures are related to lubrication. Bearing failures very often lead to unplanned downtime, which often has a significant impact on production and related equipment. This downtime is maby times very costly. Although the costs vary according to the severity of the incident and the industry in question, they do add up to production costs.
Example of a lubrication monitoring dashboard - UE Insights Platform from UESystems.
The most frequent cause of bearing failure is directly linked to lubrication, so this is a real probme. Its impact on the reliability of industrial equipment is well established! The facts show that, for many years, the lubrication of bearings has been treated more randomly than in a methodical and controlled way.
Many technicians have resorted to 'preventive' lubrication based on time: lubricating at a fixed period of time without any physical measurement of the bearing in order to determine whether or not lubricating is required! Every X months, a grease gun appears in front of the bearing to be lubricated and the bearings are lubricated in this way.
Example of bearing lubrication using a manual hand-held tool.
Manual lubrication, based solely on the manufacturer's lubrication interval data, gives rise to at least the following two risks:
• The risk of under-lubrication increases the mechanical constraints of rotation and can be the cause of failures leading to equipment breakdowns and stoppages, as well as costly corrective maintenance.
• The risk of over-lubrication, which has been identified by a large number of studies as the main cause of premature bearing failure.
Principle of Ultrasound technology applied in lubrication :
Ultrasonic technology uses specially designed sensors to detect and monitor the level of friction in bearings.
Example of autonomous lubricators controlled by ultrasound
In the case of lubrication, the ultrasonic level detected by a sensor in contact with the bearing is directly linked to the friction level of the bearings. From this point onwards, the maintenance engineer responsible for lubricating bearings has two choices:
• Manual lubrication, using a simple hand-held tool to listen to the bearings during the lubrication operation;
• The installation of an autonomous, ultrasonic-assisted lubrication system to carry out this operation safely, efficiently and without human intervention.
Lubrication 4.0: autonomous, ultrasound-assisted lubrication
A fully autonomous lubrication system completely replaces human intervention for lubrication operations. It is an intelligent lubrication and monitoring system, reducing bearing failures caused by poor lubrication practices by 80%.
How does it work?
Using ultrasound, this system measures bearing friction levels in real time. It enables lubrication problems and requirements to be detected at an early stage, well before the bearings are damaged.
Example of remote autonomous single point lubricators controlled by ultrasound
By using bearing friction as a guide, the system enables bearings that require lubrication to be precisely lubricated with the right amount of lubricant, avoiding over- and under-lubrication. As the friction level is measured continuously and in real time, even during lubrication, the system will stop lubricating on its own as soon as the friction level has dropped to its reference value.
This totally autonomous system means that only the bearings that need lubrication will be lubricated, when they need it and with the right amount of lubricant.
Ultrasonic technology for intelligent lubrication offers a number of advantages:
• Know precisely when to lubricate
• Know precisely how much lubricant to apply
• Always use the right type of lubricant
• Eliminate the risk of lubricant contamination
• Reduce lubricating time and resources
The benefits of an Ultrasound Assisted Lubrication 4.0 solution
• Easy to install and use
• Multiple connection capabilities: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 4G,5G
• Compatibility with existing systems and software
• Identify lubricating needs early on
• Lubricate as required
• Drastically improve bearing life
• Avoid over- and under-lubricating
• Reduce lubricating time
• Reduce lubricating resources
• Reduce lubricant consumption
• Reduce failure rates
Finally, it should be noted that such a solution will provide software-based, permanent, real-time monitoring of lubrication practices. For example, for the OnTrak, we have the UE Insights: a Cloud platform for storing and monitoring remote data. This fully customisable platform stores all data relating to the condition and lubrication of bearings. It can be used to create monitoring dashboards and set alarm levels. Users can choose to use pre-configured dashboards and widgets, or create their own indicators. This is a web-based platform that requires no software installation and can be consulted from any type of device connected to the internet: desktop PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.
A condition-based lubrication approach will keep bearing friction at minimum levels.
Conclusion
From a time-based periodic lubrication perspective, it is assumed that bearings need to be lubricated at regular, fixed time intervals. The question then becomes: how can these time intervals be established? This is often a combination of manufacturer's data, valid for general cases, or for bearings mounted on manufacturer's test benches, and approximations based on empirical experience of the same type of equipment.
By using ultrasonic technology, lubrication technicians will be able to know which bearings to lubricate, when to lubricate them and how much lubricant to use.
These three pieces of information, especially if delivered in real time and for each bearing to be lubricated, will make it possible to considerably improve lubrication practices, reduce lubrication times and the ammount of lubricant consumed, as well as drastically reducing bearing breakdown rates.
Text: Peter Boon, Product Specialist, UE Systems Images: UE Systems
