The highest pressure situation your maintenance department might ever encounter is a planned downtime. A large amount of work is scheduled into a small amount of time, but the deadline for resuming production is just around the corner. There can be great gains to be made by increasing reliability or installing new equipment. However, there are risks. New problems can arise, and costs can mount. How do you make shutdowns a safer bet? Click to continue

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A tool is any device used to carry out mechanical functions, whether manually or by machine. It can also be something used in an occupation or pursuit, such as reference tools.

The role that management must play in helping an organization achieve excellence in lubrication is paramount. Management buy-in and support – both financial and moral – are crucial to achieving success. However, I have observed many companies who, despite committed management and grandiose statements about "achieving lubrication excellence", fail in their goals due to an inability to develop the necessary skills and infrastructure within the ranks of the lubrication department.

This article explores what makes a good lube technician into a great lube technician. After all, the lube tech's effective performance is where the rubber meets the road, right? Without skilled, dedicated and knowledgeable lube techs, it's highly likely that management's vision for lubrication excellence will remain exactly that - merely a vision.

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"How do you prevent micro-cracks in the sealing surface, and seal failure?"

After observing dozens of seal failures over the years, I have discovered a problem that can occur during the seal installation or with the seal life itself.

Many lip-style seals utilize a small-coiled spring located in a groove on the inner side of the seal. This is obviously designed to maintain a certain amount of lip pressure to the shaft surface. However, upon examining several failures, I discovered that this spring can jump out of its groove in the seal assembly. This is due to the "shocking" that the seal experiences while being driven into place with a hammer/seal driver. The individual blows can cause the spring to pop out of the seal assembly, releasing the pressure on the seal lip. Another problem I've observed is the rubber material that comprises the lip area tends to dry out over time. This results in micro-cracks in the sealing surface and is another source for seal failure.

My solution is to fill the back side of the seal with grease compatible with the rubber used for the seal. This "grease pack" accomplishes two things for the seal. First, the grease tends to work as a dampening agent and prevents the spring from jumping out of position. The second benefit is that the grease, if chosen properly, works as a preservative for the seal rubber. The oil releasing from the grease keeps the rubber soft and pliable - even after years of service. For those of you concerned about the grease coming out of the seal and getting into the various oils/fluids - I have been doing this "seal fill" for more than 16 years and have yet to see the grease come out of a seal.

Greg Neuenfeldt, Dow Corning Corporation

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AUGUST 2008

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