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Lubricants

| 2025-02-26

79th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition

Join your peers and the tribology community for the 79th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition, May 18-22, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Each year STLE's conference showcases some 500 technical presentations, application-based case studies, best practice reports and discussion panels on technical and market trends. The exhibition and popular Commercial Marketing Forum spotlight the latest products and services of interest to lubrication professionals that come from around the world, representing a full range of the industry’s most prestigious corporate, government and academic institutions.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2025-02-26

Reshaping Manufacturing

Lubricant Expo is North America’s leading exhibition and conference event dedicated to the lubricant industry. Connecting lubricant solution providers with end-user buyers and the entire chemical and equipment supply chain, the show attracts thousands of engineers and executives each year. As the sister show to Europe’s largest industry event, Lubricant Expo Europe, these two shows provide the largest dedicated exhibitions for lubrication solutions on a global scale, with a free to attend expo and conference that serves the interests of thousands of visitors representing more than 75 countries. Exhibitors cover the end-to-end chain of the industry, from finished lubricants and technologies for lubricant users, to the chemical ingredients and development devices for formulators and lab professionals.

EVENT | 2024-10-16

The Bearing Show North America/Lubricant Expo North America

The Bearing Show connects the evolving needs of bearings end-users with the latest technologies serving, OEM development, maintenance professionals and R&D engineers. Meet visitors from OEM’s, machine manufacturers, industrial plants, global distributors, and more. Matching the needs of end-users with the innovation and opportunities occurring throughout the supply-chain is essential. 

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-08-15

STLE Releases Sustainability Report

The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) is pleased to announce the release of its new free digital special report, Sustainability Opportunities for Tribology.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-04-29

Cortec Corporation Announces Strategic Partnership with Mercamer

Cortec Corporation, a leading global manufacturer specializing in environmentally responsible VpCI/VCI corrosion protection technologies, announces a new authorized distribution partner in Finland for Cortec chemical products. Cortec Corporation has ended its long-term relationship with Teknoma Oy and is looking forward to a new phase of growth and collaboration with a new partner.  Mercamer, distributor of Cortec flexible VpCI packaging, has been authorized to offer Cortec's innovative patented corrosion protection chemical products and solutions to the Finnish market.  

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2024-03-25

Cortec CEO Boris Miksic Receives Special Recognition for 50 Years of Dedicated Work at NACE-International

Boris Miksic, a Croatian-American entrepreneur and owner of Cortec Corporation, has received special recognition for 50 years of dedicated work at NACE-International, the largest global organization focusing on developing standards for corrosion prevention. Cortec is a global corrosion inhibitor manufacturer and a leader in green corrosion protection technologies. 

EVENT | 2024-03-11

2024 STLE Annual Meeting and Exhibition Registration

STLE is celebrating 80 years of technical excellence and innovation during the event. The STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition will feature over 500 technical presentations, a trade show with over 100 exhibitors, a Commercial Marketing Forum, 13 industry-specific education courses, discussion panels on technical and market trends, and more.

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EVENT | 2024-01-22

Operations, Maintenance & Safety Conference

Clean energy employees are the heart and soul of the industry and keeping them safe is a top priority. American Clean Power's (ACP’s) Operations, Maintenance and Safety Conference (OMS) is the place where leaders from headquarters to the field come together to talk about retention strategies, recruitment techniques and training best practices in an effort to make clean energy stronger and safer. Key exhibitors include Applied Industrial Technologies, ExxonMobil, Intertek AIM, ONYX Insight, Shell Lubricants, Vestas and more. The event takes place in San Diego at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. 

EVENT | 2023-04-11

Reliable Plant 2023

This three-day event offers attendees learning sessions and case studies on the latest industrial lubrication and oil analysis technologies. The comprehensive conference schedule covers every facet of the machinery lubrication industry and includes workshops on topics such as employee performance, lubrication fundamentals, condition-based maintenance and maintenance planning.

EVENT | 2023-01-18

Nextlub 2023

Lubricants and tribological systems are undergoing rapid change. The challenges and uncertainties are enormous. Ecological challenges such as the de-carbonization of industry, mobility and society on the one hand, economic challenges such as the resilience of global supply chains on the other, are changing the way lubricants and tribological systems will be developed, validated, produced and applied in the future.

EVENT | 2022-09-22

IPPE 2025

The International Production & Processing Expo is the world’s largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event of its kind. A wide range of international decision-makers attend this annual event to network and become informed on the latest technological developments and issues facing the industry. 

PRODUCT NEWS | 2022-08-31

Jorgensen Launches Three New Systems to Optimize the Machining Process

Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions announces the introduction of three new systems that will reduce labor and improve performance throughout the entire machining process.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-08-23

Oelheld Offers Technical Expertise for Machining Applications at IMTS 2022

Oelheld US will be located in Booth #237475 in the North Hall. Oelheld technical experts will be on hand to discuss grinding, erosion, precision machining, and filtration, among other topics.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-07-19

Blaser Swisslube Offers Metalworking Fluids at IMTS 2022

Blaser Swisslube returns to IMTS 2022 with a line-up of new metalworking fluids and a team of experts with diverse industry and applications experience. Visit Blaser at IMTS to learn how metalworking fluids, often thought of as a commodity, can be leveraged as a strategic tool in the manufacturing process. 

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-04-15

Oelheld Offers Grinding Oil Performance Benefits

Many see the fluids as an unnecessary evil to the grinding process, failing to realize that selecting the right grinding fluid can lead to significant improvements in cycle time, surface quality, finishes, secondary operations, such as tool coatings. Oelheld has put together a short article on grinding oil considerations.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2021-08-01

The Digital Maturity Index

A categorization of digital activities and a perspective from Klingelnberg
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2021-03-12

Shell Announces Global Portfolio of Carbon Neutral Lubricants

Shell has announced it will offer customers carbon neutral lubricants across a range of products for passenger cars, heavy duty diesel en...
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-10-10

That Blank Sheet of Paper

Does nature hate a vacuum more than a designer hates a blank sheet of paper? We will never know for sure because nature is too busy to write a blog...
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2019-10-08

Total Specialties USA Promotes Bagouet to Senior Vice President of Lubricants

Franck Bagouet, formerly the president of Total Canada, has been promoted to senior vice president – lubricants, Total Specialties ...
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2019-06-12

Oelheld Introduces Forging Lubricants

Oelheld recently announced a line of forging lubricants at Forge Fair 2019. The company is also a proud member of the Forging Industry As...
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-03-21

My Story: Ernie Reiter

In the last semester of my senior year of mechanical engineering, I recall having a discussion with my study group friends about the purpose of our...
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-01-18

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Chris’ account of p...
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-12-04

Dealing with Obsolescence

Emerging technology gets lots of coverage in all forms of media; obsolete technology is still the backbone of our economy. Self-driving vehicles ex...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2018-09-01

Everything-Friendly Lubricants

Lubricant experts are doing more than ever to make their products less toxic and harmful to everything from the environment to the people using them — which comes with plenty of extra benefits for productivity, too!
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-03-22

Worm Basics - Part 2

Continuing our discussion of the “least you need to know” about worm gearing: 5. Efficiency is highly variable for worms. If it is critical to y...
GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-07-03

Happy Independence Day!

Other than the fireworks, it is a quiet day for most of us here in the United States. We need this annual holiday to remind us that, despite the ve...
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2017-03-21

Worm Gears: Higher Energy Efficiency and Less Strain on Resources

Introduction The concepts of sustainability and energy efficiency are gaining importance in power transmission engineering. Mor...
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2016-09-27

Nye Lubricants Develops Rheolube 460 Series

Nye Lubricants is developing the next generation of synthetic hydrocarbon greases thickened with lithium soap. These new greases are the ...
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2015-06-01

The Basics of Gear Theory

Beginning with our June Issue, Gear Technology is pleased to present a series of full-length chapters excerpted from Dr. Hermann J. Stadtfeld’s latest scholarly — yet practical — contribution to the gear industry — Gleason Bevel Gear Technology. Released in March, 2014 the book boasts 365 figures intended to add graphic support of a better understanding and easier recollection of the covered material.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2015-03-03

Oelheld Boasts DiaMill HEF 100 is 'Ideal Alternative to Water Soluble Cooling Lubricants'

DiaMill HEF 1100 is a high performance product based on hydrocrack oils. It has nearly no odor, has high shearing stability, is resistant...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2015-01-01

On the Cutting Edge

Sentences that start off with some variance of “I don’t want to brag, but…” are generally a good indicator that it’s precisely what the speaker intends to do and typically end with bold proclamations that are immediately and eminently quotable — the kind of quotes perfect for beginning a feature story with an eye-catching artistic flourish.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2014-09-02

Shell Lubricants Joins MFG Day as Sponsor

Shell Lubricants has joined Manufacturing Day 2014 as the event’s exclusive Platinum Sponsor, supplying the national initiative wit...
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2013-10-01

Purchasing Gear Lubricants - Be Careful When Playing the Numbers Game

When it comes to purchasing gear lubricants, many people on both the sales and purchasing side decide to play the numbers game. The person with the most numbers, or the biggest numbers, or the lowest numbers, must have the best product - right? Wrong; gear oil selection is not a game, and numbers alone cannot determine the right product for an application.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2012-11-01

Morphology of Micropitting

Understanding the morphology of micropitting is critical in determining the root cause of failure. Examples of micropitting in gears and rolling-element bearings are presented to illustrate morphological variations that can occur in practice.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2012-10-29

Acculube Distributes New Bio-Based Lubricants

Acculube, distributor for Castrol, Exxon Mobil, and other leading global brands of industrial fluids, has been appointed one of just a fe...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2011-06-01

Wind Turbines: Clean Energy, but Energy Efficient

We talked energy efficiency with some major players in the lubricants industry— but with a focus on their products’ impact regarding energy efficiency of gears and gearboxes in wind turbines.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2011-05-01

Worm Gears - Higher Energy Efficiency and Less Strain on Resources

A very direct and effective way of increasing power transmission efficiency is a changeover from mineral-oil-based lubricants to synthetic lubricants.
PRODUCT NEWS | 2006-09-01

Product News

The complete Product News section from September/October 2006.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2005-05-01

The Influence of Additive Chemistry on Micropitting

This article discusses the potential effects observed for different antiwear and EP chemistry on the micropitting of cylindrical gears.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2004-05-01

A Model of the Pumping Action Between the Teeth of High-Speed Spur and Helical Gears

For a high-speed gearbox, an important part of power losses is due to the mesh. A global estimation is not possible and an analytical approach is necessary with evaluations of three different origins of power losses: friction in mesh contact, gear windage and pumping effect between teeth.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2001-11-01

Systematic Investigations on the Influence of Viscosity Index Improvers on EHL Film Thickness

Mineral-oil-base lubricants show a significant decrease of kinematic viscosity with rising temperature, as exemplified in Figure 1 by lubricants for vehicle gears. An important attribute of lubricants is their viscosity index (VI), according to DIN/ISO 2909 (Ref. 4). Viscosity index is a calculated coefficient, which characterizes the change of viscosity of lubricants as a function of temperature. A high viscosity index represents a low variation of viscosity due to temperature and vice versa. A low viscosity-temperature-dependence is required for lubricants that are operated at significantly varying temperature conditions, such as vehicle engine and gear lubricants in summer and winter time. This way, the oils remain flowing and pumpable at low temperatures on the one hand; and on the other hand, sufficiently thick lubricant films can be formed at higher temperatures for a safe separation of the surfaces.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2000-09-01

Gear Oil Micropitting Evaluation

During the last decade, industrial gear manufacturers, particularly in Europe, began to require documentation of micropitting performance before approving a gear oil for use in their equipment. The development of micropitting resistant lubricants has been limited both by a lack of understanding of the mechanism by which certain lubricant chemistry promotes micropitting and by a lack of readily available testing for evaluation of the micropitting resistance of lubricants. This paper reports results of two types of testing: (1) the use of a roller disk machine to conduct small scale laboratory studies of the effects of individual additives and combinations of additives on micropitting and (2) a helical gear test used to study micropitting performance of formulated gear oils.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1996-09-01

Alternative Lubrication Methods for Large Open Gear Drives

The type of lubricant and the method of applying it to the tooth flanks of large open gears is very important from the point of view of lubrication technology and maintenance. When selecting the type of lubricant and the application method, it is important to check whether it is possible to feed the required lubricant quantity to the load-carrying tooth flanks, This is necessary to avoid deficient lubrication, damage to the gear and operational malfunctions. It is important to determine the type of lubricant, which may be fluid or grease-like. The consistency of the lubricant will have a direct impact on the ability of the lubrication system to feed adequately the lubricant to the gear. The interactions between the common types of lubricant and the lubrication application methods for open gear drives are shown in Fig. 1.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

Gear Oil Classification and Selection

Today gear drive operations have several options when selecting the proper lubricant for their gearboxes. As in the past, the primary lubricant used for gearbox lubrication is mineral oil. But with the advances in technology, synthetic hydrocarbons (PAOs) and polyglycols show very specific advantages in certain applications. With gear drives becoming more and more precise, it is now also to the benefit of the gear operator to verify that he or she has the proper additive package and viscosity in the lubricant selected. Fig. 1 shoes that a gear oil is a combination of a base oil and specific additives. The base oils can be either mineral oil, a synthetic or even in some cases a combination of the two.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

EHL Film Thickness, Additives and Gear Surface Fatigue

Aircraft transmissions for helicopters, turboprops and geared turbofan aircraft require high reliability and provide several thousand hours of operation between overhauls. In addition, They should be lightweight and have very high efficiency to minimize operating costs for the aircraft.
FEATURE ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

Ten Myths About Gear Lubrication

Myth No. 1: Oil Is Oil. Using the wrong oil is a common cause of gear failure. Gears require lubricants blended specifically for the application. For example, slow-speed spur gears, high-speed helical gears, hypoid gears and worm gears all require different lubricants. Application parameters, such as operating speeds, transmitted loads, temperature extremes and contamination risks, must be considered when choosing an oil. Using the right oil can improve efficiency and extend gear life.
INDUSTRY NEWS | 1994-05-01

Choosing An ISO 9000 Consultant: Why, When & How

On of the key questions confronting any company considering ISO 9000 certification is, how much is this going to cost? The up-front fees are only the beginning. Dissect the ISO 9000 certification procedure with an eye for hidden costs, and two segments of the process will leap out - the cost of consultants and the cost of making in-house improvements for the sake of passing certification. Most of these costs can be controlled by careful selection f the right consultant in the first place.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1993-09-01

Lubricants and Lubrication of Plastic Gears

Surface measurement of any metal gear tooth contact surface will indicate some degree of peaks and valleys. When gears are placed in mesh, irregular contact surfaces are brought together in the typical combination of rolling and sliding motion. The surface peaks, or asperities, of one tooth randomly contact the asperities of the mating tooth. Under the right conditions, the asperities form momentary welds that are broken off as the gear tooth action continues. Increased friction and higher temperatures, plus wear debris introduced into the system are the result of this action.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1993-01-01

Environmentally Safe Fluids for Industrial Cutting, Lubrication, & Cleaning

Not long ago, many manufacturing managers thought sensitivity to environmental protection standards meant additional expenses, decreased productivity, and a plethora of headaches and hassles.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1985-01-01

The Effect of Lubricant Traction On Wormgear Efficiency

The effect of various lubricant factors on wormgear efficiency has been evaluated using a variety of gear types and conditions. In particular, the significant efficiency improvements afforded by certain types of synthetic lubricants have been investigated to determine the cause of these improvements. This paper describes broad wormgear testing, both in the laboratory and in service, and describes the extent to which efficiency can be affected by changes in the lubricant; the effects of viscosity, viscosity index improvers and, finally, synthetic lubricants are discussed. The work concludes that lubricant tractional properties can play a significant role in determining gear efficiency characteristics.
VOICES | 1984-08-01

A Second Rate Society - Never

What was once recognized as the unique genius of America is now slipping away from us and, in many areas, is now seen as a "second rate" capability. Unless action is taken now, this country is in real danger of being unable to regain its supremacy in technological development and economic vigor. First Americans must understand the serious implications of the problem; and second, we must dedicate ourselves to national and local actions that will ensure a greater scientific and technological literacy in America.
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