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Choosing the Right One, Using It Well, Maintaining It Properly: A Practical Guide to Bearing Lubrication and Sealing

2025-11-30

Statistics show that over half of early bearing failures are not due to fatigue damage, but rather to improper lubrication or seal failure. Proper lubrication and sealing are the most economical and effective ways to extend bearing life.

Lubrication: The "Blood" of Bearings
The core functions of lubricants (greases or oils) are threefold: reducing friction and wear, dissipating heat, preventing corrosion, and isolating contaminants.

Selection Criteria: A comprehensive consideration of speed (low-viscosity oils or greases with low base oil viscosity for high-speed applications), load (high-viscosity oils or extreme pressure greases for heavy loads), temperature (high-temperature resistant synthetic greases are required for high-temperature applications), and the working environment is necessary.

Lubrication Methods: Grease lubrication is simple and easy to seal, but has poor heat dissipation and cleanliness; oil lubrication has good cooling effects and is suitable for high-speed, high-temperature applications, but the system is complex.

Sealing: The "Immune System" of Bearings
The task of seals is to prevent lubricant leakage and the intrusion of external contaminants (such as dust and moisture).

Contact seals: Such as rubber ring seals (RS), offer excellent sealing performance but have high frictional torque, impacting high-speed applications.

Non-contact seals: Such as dust covers (ZZ) or labyrinth seals with small gaps, offer low friction and are suitable for high speeds, but their sealing performance is relatively weaker.

Combined applications: In harsh operating conditions, a combination of contact and non-contact seals is often used to achieve optimal protection.

Summary: Choosing the right lubricant and sealing solution for your equipment and establishing a regular maintenance system is far more cost-effective and ensures production continuity than waiting for bearings to fail and need replacement. Remember, maintenance is better than repair.