Pull it out of the box, unfold the handle, fill it full of fuel, pull the cord and off you both go. 2 minutes later there is a horrible grinding shriek, and the mower stops…
Minutes later as you are trying to put it back in the box to return the junk, you come across a bottle of fluid that is in the way. Pulling the bottle out and before throwing it over your shoulder, you glimpse a label on the bottle that says OIL. A bit of further reading explains what has happened and you feel a complete fool.
Many of the products available from Richmond require lubrication to function properly and avoid seizing.
Lubrication is the process by which a substance is added between solid surfaces that reduces friction, wear, and tear. This could be oil, grease, silicone, or plastic – with a vast combination of choice in the modern world.
Another way of describing lubrication is a layer that separates surfaces or protects them by reducing friction, wear, heat, and energy consumption.
This only scratches the surfaces of what lubrication is and the benefits it provides. In fact, there is a whole science to the process of lubrication named tribology.
If it slides, rotates, or moves it will benefit from Lubrication. So, it will come as no surprise that grease and lubrication is an important part of our offering. Below are some examples of how lubrication is used across the broad range of products available from Richmond.
We have 4 main types of bearing arrangements in our wheels.
Nylon and to a lesser extent Polypropylene have a natural low coefficient of Friction. These wheels can be placed on an axle without lubricant, however when we assemble them into castors, we use a silicone scuffing paste, which not only lowers friction, but noise as well.
Cast Iron wheels have a natural degree of lubrication in the flake structure of the iron. Greasing, however, makes an enormous difference to rolling resistance and all wheels come provided with grease nipples.
All these wheels in our range are supplied pre-greased with a grease nipple.
Regular greasing extends the working life of the wheel by at least two times as much and is critical for stainless steel roller bearings.
If you unload a wheel, and spin it and you hear the bearing rattle, it needs greasing.
As a standard all these wheels are fitted with rubber seals on both sides and are pre-greased for life.
Where the application calls for regular greasing, we use single metal seal ball bearings and fit a grease nipple.
All our wheels with Taper Roller Bearings are supplied prepacked with grease and oil seals fitted. Each Wheel with a taper roller bearing will have a grease nipple.Spacer
Richmond uses a wide range of specialty bearings to suit the needs of a wide range of applications.
All these bearings will require some kind of lubrication.
Some examples of specialty bearings include ceramic bearings, kiln car bearings, stainless steel bearings, high clearance bearings for heat applications, and more.
Pallet jacks, fork stackers, lift tables and all other kinds of materials handling equipment all have many hinged joints on them. The main joints on these machines are fitted with self-lubricating bushes which should last the life cycle of the machine.
Some equipment has a grease nipple at a heavily worked joint and requires lubrication.
View our range of materials handling equipment
This equipment uses lots of bearings which are pre-greased for life.
Bearings which have dried up are better off being replaced rather than re-greased. We can supply a wide range of conveyor roller bearings to suit.
If you try and lubricate all the conveyor bearings there is a risk of over-lubricating the bearings. It is recommended that these be replaced as a more cost effective measure for keeping the rollers rotating smoothly and easily without drag.
View our range of conveyor equipment
Lubricating all your gate hardware will keep your gate running smoother and quieter for longer.
Hinges, Rollers, Track, Gear Racks etc all benefit from lubrication with the whole system operating with less force and certainly quieter. Needless to say much less wear and the equipment will last a lot longer.
View our range of gate hardware
Our Engineering team are experts when it comes to understanding the importance of lubrication for rolling equipment.
So if you have any questions get in touch with the experts!
Get in touch with our experienced staff
1300 474 246 or Contact Us
No products in the cart.
We use cookies to optimise your experience of our website. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information.
OK