Equipment and Construction News

Viscosity testing is used to determine the thickness of any oil or fluid that is needed for a machine to operate and can tell us a lot about the interior conditions of that machine. Any machine that has a piston, a rotor, or a gearbox is going to have its oil sampled and sent off to be analyzed, because the owner of that machine needs as much information as possible about the inner workings of a machine to determine what must be done to properly maintain it.

When a machine is in operation, it has a number of moving parts that are rubbing together at generally high speeds, creating a large amount of friction that causes the parts to wear out. In order to reduce the amount of wear that a machine’s internal parts suffer, oil is used to lubricate each part, greatly reducing the amount of friction they create.

It is imperative that the any lubricants used in a machine are just the right thickness for that machine, because lubricant that is overly thick or thin can cause several different problems, like not properly reducing friction. When you have the viscosity for a machine tested, you are given a lot of information that will help you figure out whether or not the oils you use are ideal for your machine, as well as many other things.

All types of conclusions can be gathered from the information provided as a result of one of these tests, from what oil should be used to what kind of conditions the oil is coming in contact with. A change in viscosity could indicate a number of things, such as dilution caused by other fluids leaking into the oil, changes in temperature, breakdown of the oil, and oil contamination.

Throughout the many industries in which this sort of testing is used, understanding the condition of an oil lubricant is a vital part of properly servicing and maintaining a piece of machinery. When the maintenance team of a company is warned of a noticeable change in oil’s viscosity, they can determine that their machine is not operating as it should be and have a good idea of where they should begin looking for the problem, as well as how they should deal with it once they find it. Due to the extensive amount of information it provides, routine viscosity testing is a large part of preventive maintenance and keeping the gears turning.

Provides you with the right blend of technology through viscosity testing or oil test lab. Gather further info from Beverly A. Robidoux machine condition monitoring consultant.