There are 3 main types of lubricants, synthetic oil, grease and graphite. Synthetic oil is a lubricant with is engineered for the job of a conventional lubricant, but much better. As they can be specifically be designed to fulfil a particular need. However because of this synthetic oil is very costly to produce and there for more expensive to buy, it can offer significant performance as it remain stable in extreme temperature.
All
lubricants fall into one of their three different lubricant categories; liquid
(oil), semi-liquid (grease) and solid lubricant (graphite). The lubricant are
made from vegetable oil, synthetic base stock and minerals witch are
hydrocarbon, hydrocarbons is a compound witch only contains hydrogen and
carbon, hence the name “hydrocarbon”, also graphite is only made from carbon
(c). raw lubricants are not in used because if additives aren’t added the raw lubricant
alone can over heat, catch fire or evaporate which can lead to both of the
surfaces to touch whilst dry which can led to irreparable damages. To prevent
this from happening, all lubricants are processed to remove impurities and
chemical such as additives are added.
The
first main lubricant that is mostly used in formula 1 engine are synthetic oil,
synthetic oil is different from the other lubricants because synthetic oil had
polymer added to mineral oils to enhance there properties, furthermore, various
types of ester, silicone and other polymers are added mainly to increase the
viscosity and the wear resistant of the lubricant.
The
second main lubricant used is grease, grease is mainly used for wheel bearing
because it can function for a long period of time with out needed attention. However, grease doesn’t dissipate heat generated as well as liquid oil because
of its higher viscosity compared to liquid oil. Graphite is not used on its own
as it will turn into fine particles which is useless for the machine however
graphite is a very useful lubrication when mixed with grease making Graphite
grease, graphite is entirely made of carbon atoms only. Carbon bonded to 3
other carbon molecules making a lot of hexagon together. Since carbon could
make 4 bonds in total it loses an electron from its outer shell so as each
carbon loses an electron, they form a “cloud” of electron between each layer of
carbon hexagon allowing them to slide over each other witch makes it an
effective lubricant.
The
last main lubricant is cutting fluid, this fluid is mainly used whilst cutting,
hence the name “Cutting Fluid” this is used to keep materials clean whilst
being cut and cooled so that the cutting edge doesn’t “stick” to the material
whilst being cut or doesn't wear off easily. Lastly, they use this so that it
doesn’t oxidise and give the material a good finish.
There
are 3 main oil lubrication system, total loss, self contained and re-circulation.
Total loss lubrication is when the oil is applied to the moving pars by means
of an oil can or an aerosol spray, hence the name “total loss” because it needs
to be reapplied once the oil evaporated, drips, takes in dust or dirt and
becomes a semi solidified lubricant an example of this is a chain bike, the
bike chain is lubricated using this method and needs to be re-applied once the
chain has been cleaned or the lubricant has solidify. Another method witch is
used on large equipments is supplying lubrication oil or oil mist periodically
for a central reservoir by means of having a manual control or a
semi-automatic pump.
The
second method is self-contained, self-contained lubrication self contains the
lubricant in a reservoir. Hence the name “self-contained lubrication” for
example, the gearbox of a car is generally lubricated this way.
The
last lubrication process witch is used is “re-circulating lubrication”, the oil
from the reserve is fed under pressure through a filter directly to the moving part using the delivery
pump, the lubricant continuous and after each passing over the contact surface
the oil runs back into the reservoir under the effects of gravity.
In
an engineering workshop lathes uses “splash lubrication” to lubricate the
gearbox, splash lubricant works by having one gear or more which is partly
submerged in oil (show in diagram before). Lathes have been designed this way
because this process is much more efficient for this machine, the splash will
create an oil mist and will keep the gears lubricated and helps the gears
moving. The best lubricant to use for this job is synthetic oil because this
lubricate would be able to handle the pressure of the lathe and also it is
engineered for a curtain job, the synthetic oil has an excellent viscosity for
this job. If I would design a lathe I would use this process because this
process is cost effective and also it is much more effective.
