Critical preventative maintenance lubrication is an integral part of equipment upkeep. While necessary, some issues can come up during the machinery lubrication process, making it more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive than necessary.
GP Reeves has partnered with numerous manufacturers to configure lubricant dispensing solutions that promote ease, reduce downtime, and increase productivity. Here are some problems our customers have dealt with and our way of flipping the script!
Over- and Under-Lubricating
One problem operators might face during critical machinery lubrication is over or under-lubricating. Especially when your maintenance needs are crucial for steady operations, it’s important that the right amount of lubricant is applied at each interval.
Technicians may apply a large amount of lube with intentions to protect their equipment, but this practice can leave you with more material needs than expected. From likely supply chain issues to the added costs of purchasing more lubricant than budgeted, this situation is exceptionally aggravating. In addition, by applying too much material to production equipment, manufacturing plants increase their risk of slips, falls, and clean up efforts. Over-lubricating a system can lead to excess grease falling from components and onto your shop floor, creating an unsightly and dangerous mess.
On the other hand, if an operator applies too little lubricant to their parts, their machinery will face increased ware, become less efficient, and might not work effectively.
GP Reeves Solution to Over- and Under-Lubricating
GP Reeves has configured easy-to-use and cost-effective lubricant dispensing systems to alleviate the hassle of over or under-lubricating. From systems that use a consistent grease gun to others that utilize completely custom tooling, our equipment can fit your machinery’s exact needs and scale.
Our team specializes in precision dispensing, so your lubricant volumes will be consistent, reliable, and exact.
Manual Machinery Lubrication
Manufacturers may not realize how much time, money, and material they’re wasting by completing the task of critical machinery lubrication manually. During this process, an operator is likely halting or slowing productivity to lubricate part components, taking time away from the plant’s projects and the operator’s schedule. In addition, manual maintenance lubrication often causes a lot of uncertainty and increased risk.
By conducting crucial lubrication manually, it’s hard to measure the lubricant volume and ensure your machinery receives the right amount of material. the human-side of things also means that the lubrication schedule may be inconsistent, so vital parts might not be lubricated when needed.
GP Reeves Solution to Inefficient Manual Machinery Lubrication
Our team has configured a product line with a myriad of precise, reliable, and automatic dispensing solutions. By pairing an automated dispensing system with your machinery’s integral maintenance procedures, your equipment can be reliably lubricated on a consistent schedule. These systems have saved customers thousands of dollars, significantly reduced their operational downtime, and improved their productivity. Our ability to customize dispensing equipment ensures that material is applied to the right places at the right volumes, even on unique machinery components
Machinery Lubrication and Workplace Safety
Manual machinery lubrication can be dangerous. The potential for mess becomes greater when dealing with applications by hand, and these messes can be hazardous for those on the shop floor.
Manual lubrication is especially dangerous if the process needs to occur while the machinery is still in operation. Overall, manual lubrication has plenty of unnecessary risks, costs, and challenges.
GP Reeves Solution for Safer Machinery Lubrication
Automated lubrication dispensing solutions from GP Reeves not only improve workplace safety by removing workers from potentially dangerous spaces, but it also frees them up to focus on more important tasks.
Combining sensors that monitor dispensing with nested dispensing solutions and control systems, you can simultaneously keep workers out of potentially hazardous environments and dramatically reduce the amount of time they spend keeping your equipment lubricated.
Lubricant Contamination
If foreign materials enter your lubricant, they can have harsh effects on the machinery you’re trying to lubricate, the performance of the lubricant, and the equipment you’re using to apply the material. This harmful debris can come from airborne particles, dirt around the plant floor, or even components of the machinery you might be trying to lubricate. It can enter your material during lubricant production, the shipping and storing processes, and even through drum changeovers. No matter the source, contaminated material is hard to remove and clean, and can lead to wasted time, money, and effort. It can also lead to uncertainty regarding the purity of your production materials, which may cause concern for certain regulatory standards.
GP Reeves Solution to Lubricant Contamination
To avoid situations of material contamination, GP Reeves manufactures numerous solutions to protect lubricants from foreign particles. Relating to material pumping, the inductor plates used on our pumps cover your production material with an impermeable layer of protection. GP Reeves systems also keep pump suction “off the floor” to avoid risks of debris entering your system during a container change. Beyond the pump, your material is also protected with our state-of-the-art material filters. Our filters prevent even miniscule particulates from entering your system and have different options for optimal material compatibility.
Air’s Role in Contamination
Something manufacturers might not consider is the potential for air to enter their dispensing system. If this occurs, your material volumes can be negatively impacted, and part components might not receive the accurate coating they need. GP Reeves has a patented air removal system, GUS, which ensures material containing air does not enter your dispensing process. Learn more about this patented solution here!
Factory Equipment Longevity
Especially when dealing with important industrial machinery, it’s important that your systems provide an adequate operational lifespan and work effectively during their use. When caring for these machines, however, some manufacturers conduct maintenance with practices that hurt their equipment’s functionality in the long run. From increased component wear to higher energy usage and bearing damage, an improper lubrication process can contribute significantly to the hasty degradation of your machinery. Not only does this resulting breakdown mean repair downtime, but also leads you to deal with replacement part supply chains, missed customer deliveries, and increased exposure to safety risks during repair.
GP Reeves Solution to Factory Equipment Longevity
Our equipment’s purpose is to propel your production beyond limits. With a dispensing solution from GP Reeves, you can trust that machinery is effectively lubricated with the right amount of material. Our automated dispensing systems free you so that you can focus on other, less-mundane tasks. Rather than concentrating on challenging material applications, trust the customizability of our fluid dispensing products to ensure all unique points receive material. The quality, decades of experience, and team behind all of our products ensure they’ll reliably support your machinery for years to come. We’re still supporting dispensing equipment that was sold over 25 years ago! Overall, our cutting-edge systems ensure your machinery operates at its greatest potential for the long haul.
Partner with GP Reeves for your Lubrication Maintenance!
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