October 2020

Focus on: Seals, Bearings & Lubrication October 2020 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 27 S KF has extended the capability of its Enlight ProCollect portable data collection system, enabling maintenance engineers to plan lubrication routes around a factory or process operation. Lubrication is vital to rotating equipment performance and needs to be carried out at regular intervals. This new enhancement to Enlight ProCollect will help manufacturing and process organisations improve maintenance procedures, with the potential to increase uptime and reduce costs. “This is a significant step towards integrating condition monitoring and lubrication data,” explains Barrie Rodgers, product line manager, mobile solutions at SKF. The extended scope of Enlight ProCollect allows users to create, schedule and carry out lubrication routes more effectively. Enlight ProCollect is a portable condition-based monitoring system that helps companies adopt digitalisation within their maintenance approach. The new functionality, made possible by an update to the SKF ProCollect app, helps users collect vibration data and carry out re- lubrication simultaneously. When creating lubrication routes, maintenance managers can define the correct lubricant, amount, location and interval in advance. They can also document specific assets and their lubrication demands, via a web-based cloud portal called SKF Enlight Centre. In this way, lubrication routes can be assigned to individual maintenance staff. Technicians are alerted when each route is due, and the mobile app guides them through the correct lubrication routine. Lubrication data is entered directly into the app and automatically uploaded to allow documentation to be instantly completed and subsequent analysis of factors such as route verification and task trends. This approach helps companies make better- informed decisions while giving maintenance managers peace of mind. They know instantly that a lubrication route has been completed correctly and on-schedule, with greater visibility of overall maintenance activities, route status, team performance and asset health. WHY IS MY EXCAVATOR SO SLOW? Tim Bone, Cylinder Parts Manager at FPE Seals explains some of the reasons why an excavator can be operating slowly. Modern day excavators come in many shapes and sizes, with most now fitted with more than one hydraulic pump, along with various system relief valves, service relief valves and priority valves to make the excavator run more smoothly. Generally, there are two main hydraulic pumps, one for each of the track motors and possibly a smaller displacement pump for the pilot circuit. Reasons as to why an excavator is running slowly, can be down to the two main hydraulic pumps, as it is these that are primarily designed to power the main function of the excavator. An excavator’s load is spread equally across both pumps. On its return, flow it is diverted through a loading valve or regeneration valve, combining both flows and giving the extra power needed to the required cylinder, resulting in a better tear out force. An excavator’s two power supplies, the engine and the hydraulic pumps, are driven through a flexible drive coupling. The first signs of a problem will show when an excavator tracks to one side or some of the functions are slow, while others are working normally. If all the functions are slow then this might be a sign that the power unit has a fault, or the drive coupling is worn and slipping. First check the power unit. Is the engine struggling? Basically, if the engine is not running correctly or in need of a service, then it cannot provide the necessary power for the hydraulic pumps to supply the flow to run the system. Secondly, check the flexible drive coupling. This could be worn, shattered or even slipping on the drive shaft. Drive couplings wear out as the rubber segment that gives it the flexibility take a lot of stress. Also check the hydraulic fluid levels, if the suction strainer is blocked this can cause cavitation and starvation to the pumps. Finding a fault on any machine is time consuming, but by using a process of elimination component by component as this will make a diagnosis easier. Try not to think that the problem is a major component, in the majority of cases it is often something very simple like an O-ring or a damaged seat of a valve. www.fpeseals.com Enabling better lubrication management