How to lubricate plastic gears of a gearbox

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The need to lubricate gear mechanisms is obvious. This reduces friction, wear, and increases the performance of mechanisms. Depending on the version of the unit (crankcase or “dry”), the lubrication method also changes.

In the first case, liquid oil is poured into the unit, in the second, grease is used, which is held on the gears.

Just like on metal components, lubricant for plastic gears can be thick or thin. There is an opinion that gears made of fluoroplastic or Teflon are themselves anti-friction.

Lubricant for plastic gears

Modern types of plastics and polymers make it possible to use them not only as seals, but also to make gears from them. This presents engineers with many opportunities, but also many challenges. The main problem was the lack of suitable lubricants. Conventional products intended for metal are not suitable, as they can corrode the plastic and change its structure and physical properties. Therefore, special types of funds have been developed. Lubricant for plastic gears allows you to achieve the necessary lubricating properties, protect the material from external factors and ensure minimal friction.

Features of using lubricant for plastic gears

Many people believe that if gears are made of plastic, they do not require lubrication. Unfortunately, this often leads to damage and premature wear of the mechanisms. Plastic lubricant should be used for almost all types of plastic gears, as it provides the following functions:

provides a long service life of plastic gears and prevents premature wear;
ensures stable operation of mechanisms without interruptions;
prevents the occurrence of unpleasant noises and squeaks, ensuring virtually silent operation;
keeps the working surface of rubbing parts intact, without roughness and abrasions;
prevents deformation of the working elements of gearboxes and the occurrence of cracks;
protects components from the influence of external factors, especially high and low temperatures.

There is a misconception that plastic gears can be lubricated with conventional lubricants. This is strictly forbidden, as there may be negative consequences.

Even universal formulations cannot guarantee high efficiency. Exposure of plastics to conventional mixtures may have the following effects:

Under the influence of ordinary lubricant, the plastic loses its strength and small cracks appear on its surface. This quickly leads to damage to the gear teeth, which causes the entire mechanism to fail. Then it will not be possible to restore the gear pairs using lubricant.
Some types may cause the surface of plastic parts to swell. This leads to the gears jamming, which can lead to breakage of the teeth and the entire assembly as a whole.
Plastic surfaces have poor adhesion. Because of this, classic lubricant does not adhere to the gears and scatters to the sides during rapid rotation.
Some types, such as solid oil, act as an abrasive. During operation, gear teeth can wear out before your eyes. This usually renders the parts completely unusable.
Classic lubricants cannot provide the necessary heat transfer. Plastic gearboxes differ from metal gearboxes in that they become very hot during operation. Conventional oil melts and loses the desired consistency, which leads to overheating of the plastic and changes in its shape and physical properties.

Today, plastic gears are used in various fields:

computer equipment, especially servers;
office equipment, including printers and scanners.
multimedia equipment, the operation of which is based on rotational mechanisms;
printing equipment, copying equipment and devices for large format printing;
in some parts of cars;
cash registers;
food equipment, including conveyors, mixing and handling equipment.
kitchen appliances;
medical equipment;
children's toys, radio-controlled models of airplanes and cars.

Lubricants for plastic gears intended for medical and food equipment require special attention, since they are subject to not only mechanical requirements, but also hygienic ones.

Electric meat grinder transmission clutch

An electric meat grinder does not have a handle. Instead of a lever there is a motor. Before assembling the meat grinder, adjust the transmission clutch. By the way, most of the breakdowns occur in this part. Designers protect the product from mechanical overloads using two methods:

The gears are made of plastic; when the shaft jams, the coupling breaks. Remember this, do not allow such situations to happen.
Advanced domestic manufacturers supply meat grinders with special bushings instead of plastic gears. The parts are for protection. Now the bushings break when overloaded. The advantage of this method: if there can be two gears in a set, then miniature inserts are shipped in dozens, which sharply reduces the frequency of the need to contact a service center.

How to choose?

Before buying oil, you need to study all the varieties, determine what it is needed for and make sure that it meets the following requirements:

Inertness to polymers (the lubricant should not react with plastic so as not to harm moving parts; even universal mixtures can damage the plastic surface).
Composition stability (lubricant for plastic gears should adhere well to the plastic surface and not change viscosity and thickness at low and high temperatures).
Versatility (very often, driving mechanisms use elements not only of plastic, but also of metal and rubber, so the product must be suitable for different materials).
Compatible with fluoroplastic (most plastic gear mechanisms are made from this material, so if there is no information about the material, this lubricant will almost certainly work).
Non-flammable (plastic gearboxes get very hot, so the lubricant should not spontaneously ignite due to high temperature).
Environmentally friendly (it must be safe for humans, since plastic friction pairs are often found in kitchen and other appliances with which humans come into direct contact).
Resistance to moisture (it should protect the mechanism from water and not be washed off by it).
Good adhesion (the plastic surface is very smooth, so ordinary oils do not adhere well to parts).

What to do if the meat grinder does not turn on?

If the device does not turn on, check whether the control panel is working properly. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that there may be no contacts. To do this you will have to disassemble the meat grinder. Follow the plan:

Unscrew all the screws.
Place them in a jar so you don't lose them.
Check the contacts and connection of the cord to the device.
Strengthen loose connections.
Assemble the device.
Try turning it on.

If all connections are secure, the device should turn on.

Lubricant for plastic gears: how it differs from conventional lubricants

In the first case, liquid oil is poured into the unit, in the second, grease is used, which is held on the gears.

Just like on metal components, lubricant for plastic gears can be thick or thin. There is an opinion that gears made of fluoroplastic or Teflon are themselves anti-friction.

Video instructions for assembling an electric meat grinder

This video clearly shows how to correctly and quickly master the technique of assembling an electric meat grinder. Once you assemble the appliance just once, you will forever remember how to assemble this kitchen appliance.

Assembling a meat grinder, both manual and electric, does not involve anything complicated. If you make any mistakes, you will feel it while working with the device. There is nothing wrong with this - you can disassemble the meat grinder and reassemble it. Step-by-step instructions will help you with this, taking into account the design features of the device.

Is there a special lubricant for plastic gears?

Almost all manufacturers of lubricants have in their assortment compositions for plastic and composites based on it. In theory, standard greases can be used for universal use. However, not all of them interact normally with plastics.

When in contact with conventional lubricants, the plastic may lose strength and crack. The teeth are destroyed and the transmission unit fails.
The material of gears and racks swells when interacting with certain compounds. Jamming occurs.
Adhesion on the surfaces of plastic gears is too weak, so standard lubricants are not retained and splash out during intense rotation.

Interestingly, some traditional lubricants that have proven themselves in metal gearboxes have a destructive effect on plastic gears. For example, when using solid oil, the teeth are worn away, as if using an abrasive paste.

For this reason, special adapted compounds are produced for plastic gears of gearboxes and worm gears.

Another technical nuance: plastic gearboxes heat up more than metal gearboxes. This occurs due to the low thermal conductivity of plastic: heat is not removed from the working area.

In this regard, high-temperature lubricant for plastic gears must maintain basic properties, both in cold and in heated states.

Using lubricant for gears made of plastic

multimedia equipment using outdated storage media (CDs, cassettes) that use rotation mechanisms;
computers, servers (CDs);
computer peripherals: scanners, printers, game controllers;
printing equipment: plotters, large-format printing devices, duplicating equipment;
office equipment: copiers, MFPs;
cash registers;
food preparation mechanisms: for example, coffee makers;
Medical equipment;
aviation modeling.

Given the applications, specialized lubricants must meet more than just mechanical requirements. Medical and food units require health and hygiene certification. Therefore, such compositions, by definition, cannot be cheap.

Common lubricants for plastic mechanisms

Silicon Fett by Liqui Moly

adheres well to the surface and repels water. Properties are maintained over a wide temperature range. Thanks to good stickiness, it does not splash at high speeds.

This composition has a long service life: replacement is not due to aging; after several years of use, the lubricant dries out naturally.

It interacts neutrally with both pure plastic and transmission pairs made of various materials: plastic + metal, plastic + rubber.

Another product from Liqui Moly

Thermoflex Spezialfett. This is a universal grease that can work in both metal and plastic gearboxes. The undoubted advantage of this composition is the preservation of viscosity at low temperatures.

However, with strong heating, the lubricant is poorly retained on the surface of the gears. Therefore, it is not suitable for high-speed gearboxes. Not a food product.

Silicone grease SI-180

A good option for domestic production. It is used mainly for aircraft modeling, so the release form is quite compact.

This lubricant can withstand high temperatures and rotational speeds. In addition, it adheres well to the teeth and does not splatter. The limitation is traditional: the lubricant is not food grade.

Food formulations

This is a separate category. Typically, such products are classified as lubricants for coffee machines, although they work great in any mechanism. The cost will simply be higher than that of technical oils.

For example, OKS 1110. The instructions indicate the application: sealing mechanisms. In fact, such lubricants work great on gear pairs.

If your plastic gearbox or worm pair works sporadically, you can get by with inexpensive silicone grease or simple technical petroleum jelly.

And at high temperature and speed loads, it is necessary to carefully select the composition of the lubricant according to its characteristics.

Source

Delicious and healthy dishes on weekdays and holidays

If all the described steps are strictly followed, the user has the opportunity to quickly and easily grind meat and other products - to obtain high-quality minced meat for preparing various dishes from the cuisine of the world.

If any problems arise, you just need to carefully re-read the “instructions”, pay attention to the most difficult points and painstakingly complete each step again, achieving the desired result - flawless operation of the machine.

Mother of two children. I have been housekeeping for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

A manual meat grinder is a necessary tool in the kitchen, because, unlike an electric one, it will never stop working due to power outages

Most modern hand-held devices are made of high-quality and reliable material to last for centuries. There are also modern meat grinders made of durable plastic. Such a meat grinder, of course, is easier to break than a cast iron one. Therefore, you should handle it more carefully.

Manual cast iron meat grinder

A cast iron meat grinder is a faithful assistant in the kitchen. It will serve for a very long time. And to break it, you need to try very hard. This is her advantage. The disadvantage of a cast iron meat grinder is that it is very heavy compared to other devices.

The cast iron meat grinder is very heavy, but it works flawlessly

Lubricant selection for plastic gears

Food grade greases for plastic gears

Many units and mechanisms of equipment in the food and food processing industries operate in conditions that do not exclude direct contact with food. Conventional lubricants contain components that are harmful to health and are not suitable for use in the food industry. Therefore, the selection of lubricants for plastic gears used in food industry equipment is a particularly difficult task.

Currently, many Russian manufacturers receive HACCP certificates, according to which it is necessary to use lubricants with “food grade” approval.

EFELE SG - 391 and EFELE SG - 394 greases with H1 NSF food approval are subject to strict quality control and are ideal for use in the production of food and beverages, guaranteeing complete safety for product consumers and production workers.