Reduced Power Consumption and Vibrations at Polskamp

Description of the situation

At Polskamp, a gearbox operates daily as part of the production process. This application provided the opportunity to investigate the influence of lubrication on machine performance under real operating conditions.

Specifications

Solution

The gearbox was filled with Eurol Lube 220-S FD: a fully synthetic NSF H1 Specialty lubricant with SYNGIS Technology.

To gain insight into the effect of the oil change, the installation was monitored using sensors. This approach represents the first application of the Eurol Lubrication System (ELS), which enables Eurol to measure machine performance and lays the foundation for data-driven lubrication advice.

The sensors continuously collected data on the behaviour and load of the installation. Days with downtime, minimal production or insufficiently representative data were excluded from the comparison. Subsequently, seven representative production days before and seven days after the oil change were analysed.

Result

After the switch, a 5.8% lower average power consumption and an 11.3% lower average vibration value were measured. The calculated energy savings amounted to approximately 0.55 kWh per operating hour. These results demonstrate what the change in lubrication achieved for this application during daily production.

At 80 operating hours per week, 50 production weeks per year and an electricity price of €0.20 per kWh, the calculated energy savings of 0.55 kWh per operating hour amount to approximately €440 per year for this gearbox. When applied to multiple machines, the total savings can increase further. The actual savings depend on the application, operating conditions and number of operating hours.