TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter examines the need for lubrication and the types of lubricant available. Various applications are considered, including engines gears, hydraulic equipment, machine tools, metal cutting and working fluids, compressors, turbines and electrical oils. The care of lubricants on-site, application of planned lubrication and inclusion within overall maintenance management are also examined.
The plant engineer's objective must be to ensure that plant operates at a profit. If overall efficiency of operation is to be achieved, and the working costs of plant kept within acceptable bounds, time must be set aside for the control and application of lubrication. The evolution of lubricants and their application, has continued ever since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and as the pattern of industry becomes increasingly more complex, the standard of performance of lubricants becomes progressively more important.
