When we talk about lubricant, a sticky substance comes into the picture. Lubricants are substances that play a vital role in the maintenance of a machine. Today we are going to look in detail at one such lubricant and that is Graphite Grease. It is impregnated grease which is grey or black in colour. It is a calcium-based lubricant. It has specific characteristics like hexagonal structure and crystalline form.
It is used for industrial purposes. Spring leaves, handbrake cables exposed chain and flexible drives are lubricated with graphite grease. It has got a structure of solid lubricants. Every machine is different and it demands variation in its maintenance of it. The parts of some machines work at a slow speed like bearings. Graphite grease is important for such slow speed bearings as it has got a crystalline structure. Heavy grease with solid lubricants is required for such slow speed bearings and slides. Their mechanism is designed in such a way that it works at a slow pace. Liquid lubricants or oil-based lubricants won’t be a solution for them.
Equipment used in mining is to be lubricated with the help of graphite grease. The equipment used in construction like bulldozers, scrapers, loading shovels and dump trucks gets lubricated with this solid lubricant. It is also utilized as a fifth wheel lubricant. The parts like latches, fasteners, plain bearing locks, cables and springs can be maintained with this lubricant.
Uses of Graphite Grease
There are certain limits to using this as it can’t be used on the wheel where the temperature exceeds 60 C. It protects against wear, corrosion and rust. It is a good resistance to water. The graphite substance present in the lubricant gives lubrication results. Graphite grease is used in two ways. One is when there is a high temperature and another one is low temperature. There are few graphite greases that are designed to work at high speed at about 500 C. It is specifically used to control high pressure. It works as a wall between the dirt, water, corrosion and the surface of the machine. The variations are seen in the graphite grease. Multi-purpose grease is used in the conveyor belt of the oven, plunges off the hydraulic pump, guides bearings of rollers and many more.
Graphite grease is actually a dry grease that has different characteristics from oil-based grease. Though it is a dry and solid lubricant, it reduces the friction between the surfaces. It has many uses like an air compressor, food industry, railway track joints, brass instrument valves, piano
actions, open gear, ball bearings, and machine shop works. It is used to lubricate the internal moving parts of machines. Solid and dry lubricants are advantageous in situations where liquid lubricants can’t take the pressure at high temperatures. Graphite has the advantage of promoting galvanic corrosion. Graphite can be used at low temperatures and it takes pressure at high temperatures.
Application of Graphite Grease
- Solid Graphite Grease is available in various forms. Many times it is used as an additive in oil, water or grease. It is applied to some parts of the machine which it is difficult to lubricate after assembling them. It is used as a spray, for dipping and brushing. It is applied to highly loaded, slow-moving parts.
- It is available in the form of a paste; it is composed of a metal powder to protect it from oxidation.
- It is also available in the form of free powder but if it has to be applied in a continuous process, then it is difficult as the adhesion to the solid particles is less as compared to other lubricants.
- Another way to lubricate the surface is to provide a coating on the metal. It is available in the form of lubricating paint. It is consisting of very fine particles of lubricating pigments.
- Some kinds of lubricants are composites of polymers and sintered materials.
- There is an addition of solid lubricant along with a layered crystal structure. It is to give lubrication to the metal surface.
Take Away
This piece of work gave us detailed information about the solid lubricant. It is called graphite grease. It is a different kind of grease from regular oil-based grease. It is used for industrial purposes. It is also used in construction like bulldozers, scrapers, loading shovels and dump trucks. It is useful to lubricate the machines used in mining. Bearings that run at a slow speed can be lubricated with the help of solid graphite grease. It has got a hexagonal structure. It is available in different forms. Powder, spray, paste and paint coating.
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