Selecting the right lubricant for milling applications is critical to meeting budget and productivity goals. Washington Mills, a large worldwide producer of abrasives and electro minerals, discovered this when untimely, costly breakdowns of its milling operation equipment began affecting its distribution to the refractory, electronics, automotive, and other high-tech ceramic industries.
This challenge prompted the company to switch from a mineral-based lubricant to a synthetic for improved protection. Now that Washington Mills uses non-asphaltic Anderol Polyguard 4100 open gear synthetic lubricant, the company's operations run smoothly 24/7/365, without unpredictable ball mill shutdowns. Other benefits include less volatile organic carbons (VOC), decreased disposal costs, and prevention of metallurgical fatigue.
"Since implementing the Anderol Polyguard 4100, we have reduced wear and replacement of pinion gears, for an annual cost savings of about $30,000," says Brian Fisher, maintenance superintendent, Washington Mills. "This lubricant will allow us to better reallocate money and manpower toward other business priorities."
The lubricant's cling properties enable it to quickly stick onto the ball mill's gears to form a protective shear coating, lubricating while cooling the gear teeth. These characteristics have significantly reduced site maintenance, and virtually eliminated scheduled repair for Washington Mills.
Easy Maintenance, Extended Performance
Immediate improvements noticed at Washington Mills included excellent cold-weather pumpability, negligible maintenance, and reduction in spare-part inventory, previously maintained at excessive levels in anticipation of equipment failure.
In addition, low vibration analysis readings of the ball mill's surface have indicated little to no friction or misalignment of gears, which has enhanced machine reliability and performance. Another major benefit of Anderol's synthetic lubricant is a significant reduction in Washington Mills' disposal costs and emissions of hydrocarbons into the environment. Also, due to the absence of asphaltic materials, the lubricant has a transparent amber color, allowing gear teeth to be easily viewed and inspected without stopping the machinery.
"Using a non-asphaltic product has provided a more user-friendly environment, virtually eliminating weekly clean-ups," says Fisher. "Our previous lubricant left heavy black residue throughout the entire plant that employees would track all over the place."
Anderol Polyguard 4100 also enhances productivity and machinery performance by pumping more quickly. Its viscosity allows consistent flow during winter months without the need of a heat trace.
Peace of Mind
Washington Mills found that the proprietary chemistry of the Anderol lubricant promotes evaporation at nearly twice the rate of its previous products. This results in rapid setup on gear teeth to prevent metal loss. The lubricant's additive system also enhances milling output by providing EP protection, showing less instance of wear, thereby optimizing equipment efficiency. All of these lubricant features work together to improve the process of milling abrasives and delivering them to customers.
"Our previous mineral-based, asphaltic lubricant required annual replacement of pinion gears, which took between 16-24 hours at each change-out," says Fisher. "The Anderol Polyguard 4100 gives us the peace of mind that adequate lubrication is happening around the clock and equipment failure is the exception and not the rule."
Upon request, Anderol tailored the amount of lubricant delivered to Washington Mills into 180 kg drums, which has streamlined storage and usage. The company will also provide the mineral producer a full range of lubricant-related services that will continue to enhance results over the long term.
"From this point on we will be able to focus our efforts on delivering customers the highest quality abrasive grain and specialty electro-fused minerals without having to worry about whether or not our equipment will work or negatively impact our bottom line," says Fisher.
