Industrial Lubricants Malaysia
Industrial lubricants are oils, fluids, greases and other compounds designed to reduce friction, binding or wear and exclude moisture. Specialized characteristics may enhance thermal conduction across thermal interfaces or reduce electrical resistivity across electrical joints. Industrial lubricants that provide sealing exclude moisture, water or gas from joints or machines. This provides a degree of corrosion protection for both internal and external surfaces. Industrial lubricants are also used in mold release agents and as anti-loading additives on abrasive products. Industrial lubricants are available in a variety of forms such as low viscosity oils, greases (high viscosity), waxes, solid lubricant powders and high temperature silicates. Lubricating oils often consist of natural oils, synthetic silicone oils, petroleum based compounds, or combinations with wax or solid lubricant dispersions.
There are many types of industrial lubricants. Additives are chemical substances that are added to fluids to impart or improve specific properties. For example, extreme pressure (EP) lubricants use chemically active additives to provide a film layer capable of withstanding high loads without disruption. Greases, gels, and lubricating pastes are thick, high viscosity products that do not run or flow off surfaces. Micro-dispersions are oils or lubricating fluids that contain a dispersion of solid lubricant particles such as polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), graphite, and molybdenum disulfide or boron nitride (BN) in a mineral, petroleum or synthetic oil base. Fluid lubricants are a broad category that includes coolants, refrigerants, base oils, and transformer oils. Solid lubricants or dry film lubricants are compounds such as hexagonal flake graphite that are designed to reduce friction, binding or wear; exclude water; or provide other specialized characteristics.
Industrial lubricants vary widely in terms of chemical composition. Some products contain petroleum or mineral oils, glycol or polyglycol, ester or diester, or silicone-based fluids with outstanding thermal and dielectric properties. Other products contain high water content fluids (HWCF), natural oils, water-soluble fluids, soap complexes, or waxes such as paraffin and stearate. Industrial lubricants that are based on halogenated hydrocarbons include chlorofluorcarbon (CFC), halogenated fluorocarbon (HFC), halogenated chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), and perfluorocarbon (PFC). Fluoropolymer-based solid lubricants include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and are available in various forms. Synthetic fluids do not contain a petroleum or mineral oil base, but provide exceptional fire resistance and cooling performance. The characteristics, cost and heat transfer performance of semi-synthetic fluids fall between those of synthetic and soluble oil fluids.
Important properties for industrial lubricants include kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, pour point, flash point, autogenous ignition (AIT), and special features. Kinematic viscosity is the time required for a fixed amount of fluid to flow though a capillary tube under the force of gravity. The viscosity index scale describes the change in viscosity at two temperature extremes: 210° F (98.9 ° C) and 100° F (37.8 ° C). Pour point, the lowest temperature at which a fluid flows, is typically 15° F to 20° F below the lowest end-use temperature. Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid can give off sufficient vapors to form an ignitable mixture in air near the surface of the liquid. Autogenous ignition (AIT) is the temperature at which ignition occurs spontaneously. Some industrial lubricants are fire resistant, biodegradable, low foaming, or oxidation inhibiting. Others are designed specifically for automotive or transportation applications.
