Automatic paste lubricators for steel cables

Marcos Thadeu Lobo

Mechanical Engineer Graduated from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). He currently works as an Associate Consultant at the company QU4TTUOR CONSULTORIA.

Automatic paste lubricators

Automatic paste lubricators – Manual lubrication of steel cables, although necessary in certain situations, has several undesirable aspects:

Figures 1/2 –  Manual lubrication of steel cables

1. Intensive use of gloves, brushes, and scraps in lubrication work.
2. The operation generates a lot of dirt and significant grease waste.
3. Increased lubrication costs due to excessive use of grease.
4. Manual lubrication only covers the outer surface of the wire rope, not penetrating properly between the wire rope legs until it reaches its core.
5. Health problems for the worker due to contact with grease.
6. Safety concerns when working at height.
7. Environmental contamination of soil and water in the face of dripping grease.

In view of the aforementioned problems, in many situations, automatic steel cable lubricators with a collar were used, which inject grease at high pressure on the surface of the steel cable in order to have better penetration between the wires, strands until reaching its core. (steel or fiber).

Figures 3/4 – Automatic steel cable lubricators with collar.

The use of automatic steel cables lubricators with collars has the following advantages:

Figures 5/6 – More reliability and greater availability of steel cables.

1. Reduction of efforts in the operation of lubricating steel cables.
2. Reduction of dirt and grease waste, reducing lubrication costs.
3. Deep penetration of the grease in the wire rope and wide outer protective cover.
4. Safety for lubricating mechanics against accidents, especially when working at height.
5. Reduced environmental contamination due to the adequate dosage of the amount of grease applied in the lubrication operations.
6. Longer lifetime of wire ropes and less time for unwanted downtime.
7. Longer relubrication intervals.
8. Control the amount of grease to be used in relubrication services.

Automatic collared steel cables lubricators are very useful in lubricating wire ropes used in ship cranes, harbor cranes, off-shore cranes, mining equipment, dredger, tug and lock gates winches, etc.

Figures 7/8 – Off-shore and mining cranes.

Greases for automatic paste lubricators

It is recommended that grease for use in automatic collared wire rope lubricators should have the following characteristics:

1. Lithium soap-based thickener.
2. Semi-fluid grease (eg Consistency Grade NLGI 0) for easy pumpability.
   Resistance to water washing.
3. EP additive to protect steel cables and pulleys against wear.
4. High adhesiveness to prevent dripping and increase relubrication service intervals.
5. Good penetration between the wires and strands of the steel cables so that the grease can reach its core.
6. Efficient corrosion protection.
7. Use of solid additives (eg graphite) to improve lubricity and wear protection.

Figures 9/10 – Reduction in grease consumption and better lubrication.

The use of automatic wire rope lubricators with a collar represented a great advance in wire rope lubrication services, allowing safer and more effective lubrication of these machine elements in order to reduce early stoppages due to premature wear caused by poor lubrication. The automation of wire rope lubrication through the use of automatic wire rope lubricators with collars is a growing trend that will allow the use of lubricating mechanics labor in more qualified tasks with less risk to the worker’s health.