EXAMINATION OF SOME OF THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF GREASE

Until comparatively recently, consistency, worked and unworked penetration of a grease were useful indications of its performance ability. Present day requirements of machine tools, and the sophisticated grease formulations available, make these indications of little real value to machine designers. As machine design advances it is increasingly important that lubricants are given attention at the drawing board stage and not left until the test runs. Lubricants must be dimensionally included in design procedures. Whilst lubricants can be so included, it is not so easy for grease, at least not so easy if using the rules still in use to identify its characteristics. This article suggests a method for identifying the important physical characteristics of grease in units more appropriate to those used in modern machine design.