Lubrication Experts

Gas to Liquid (GTL) base oils have become reasonably popular in the industry over the last decade. Primarily produced by Shell at the Pearl GTL facility, there are some misconceptions around the actual process. Marketed as "PurePlus" technology in both Pennzoil and Shell finished lubricants, the base oil has also found it's way into many industrial products. But how does it stack up compared with...

Sales is changing - it has had to, thanks not only to the worldwide pandemic but also because the 'new kids on the block', aka the millennial generation, have an entirely different perspective on the world. Steve shares his ideas on how to change the face of sales, both in the here and now, and for the future. Change often requires us to look at what's gone before, identify the good, the bad, and...

White Etch Cracking is a phenomenon that can affect many bearings, but is most commonly associated with wind turbine bearings. As a relatively "new" phenomenon, there were many mechanisms proposed including stray current, transient loads, and hydrogen embrittlement. But in order to study this failure mode, we first had to simulate it in the lab. This is the story of the multi-team research effort...

Recruitment. It isn't easy for an industry that struggles for recognition. James Moorehouse from ABN Resources is an executive recruiter specializing in the lubricants industry; he was kind enough to sit down and share his thoughts on attracting talent, retaining talent, diversity and inclusion initiatives that go beyond just demographics and the challenges of an aging workforce. For any business...

When a new technology emerges, the lubricants industry must evolve to meet the specific challenges of the new operating paradigm. In the 1980's on of the biggest new applications was the wind turbine gearbox. In this episode Jim Carey, retired Mobil formulator, talks us through the evolution of these products and the formulation challenges as gearboxes became larger and more power dense.

One of the deficiencies of the lubrication industry has been its capacity to convey the value of the technology through meaningful stories. Laurie Winkless is here to change that; her new book (Sticky: The Secret Science of Surfaces) is an in-depth look at the science of tribology and surface science that weaves narratives of Olympic achievement, professional controversy and curiosity. It's a trul...

Ion exchange resin filter technologies have been around for a while, but have gained a lot of exposure through their capacity to remove molecules associated with varnish, particularly in turbomachinery systems. Peter Dufresne of EPT Clean oil helps shed light on these technologies and other strategies to use chemistry solutions to solve chemical problems in turbines. https://cleanoil.com

Inline sensors have been around for ages, yet they monitor very few lubricated components. This is in stark contrast to online vibration analysis, which has been commonplace for many years. Why the big difference? And what is the future of real-time oil analysis? I talk with Guillermo Miro from Atten2 about the world of online sensors. Atten2 website: http://atten2.com/

What exactly is the role of oil companies in motorsports? Seems like a trivial question, but their involvement can run much deeper than just slapping sticker on the side of a car or sponsoring a driver. Tomek Young - Global Motorsport Technology Manager at ExxonMobil, breaks down the relationship between race teams and their oil suppliers, and some of the specific things Mobil has been able to ach...

Supply chains around the world are broken. But it definitely feels like the shortages in the lubricants world have been both more acute and more widespread. Rolling base oil, additive and finished lubricants shortages have affected many industries and there seems to be no end in sight. Lubricants supply chain expert Trevor Gaunlett gave us insight into both how we got caught wrong-footed, and what...

Erik Mosselaar from Distance and I discuss the digitalisation of expertise - how do you take expert decisions and bake them into algorithms? How do you make secure data available to a network of worldwide experts that can give you advice on maintenance activities? How do you tap into multiple data streams when the sensor technology is made by different OEMs? If you're interested in the Condence pl...

Blair Fraser from the Maintenance Disrupted podcast comes to talk about the state of the maintenance industry today, the most exciting technology he has been exposed to, and common threads which seem to enable success in the maintenance industry today. If you're not already already a regular listener, I encourage you to check out the podcast: https://www.maintenancedisrupted.com/podcast

Space... the final frontier. You know the drill. It's Space! It's the most extreme conditions that humankind will ever face - chillingly cold temperatures, violent heat, complete vacuum, zero gravity, atomic oxygen. Dr Juan Flores Preciado from SpaceX kindly sat down to talk through the challenges of lubricating machinery in the space industry. How can you use oil, grease and solid lubricants in t...

Sanya Mathura of Strategic Reliability Solutions discusses the topic of her new book - "Lubrication Degradation Mechanisms - A Complete Guide". We talk about the nuances of oil ageing, and how characterising deposits can help identify root causes. Book link (use code FLR40 for discount): https://www.routledge.com/Lubrication-Degradation-Mechanisms-A-Complete-Guide/Mathura/p/book/9780367607760 Pre-...

Can lubricant last forever? What do you need to measure and treat in service oils so that their life can extend to equal that of the equipment they are protecting? Greg Livingstone, Chief Innovation Officer of Fluitec sits down to discuss their approach to reconditioning oil. https://www.fluitec.com/

The lubrication landscape is evolving, but so is the business landscape. Service models abound, whether it's Software as a Service (think Microsoft 365, Salesforce) or Entertainment as a Service (think Netflix, Disney+). Now it's time for industrial service providers to start providing innovative business models. One such company that has been working at this for a number of years is Fluid Intelli...

Group V esters are interesting, inasmuch as the term "ester" only really refers to a single functional group. The capacity to tailor the "r" alkyl groups around these are infinite, and there are a number of small-batch companies producing highly customised esters for lubricating oils. Biosynthetic Technologies is known for the Estolides - a form of ester that is very resistant to hydrolysis. The o...

Naphthenic base oils - they're often seen as the unwanted cousins to paraffin base oils (Groups I - IV), but maybe the industry needs to re-evaluate this view. After all base oils aren't necessarily good or bad, just fit for certain applications.

The food industry has some really unique challenges when it comes to maintenance, reliability and lubrication. Simon Murray is a maintenance coach with extensive experience in the industry and was kind enough to sit down with me to talk about the industry in general, as well as lubrication practices within the industry. Simon's website: https://www.yourmaintenancecoach.com

If you've watched this channel before, you'll understand that I'm passionate about lubrication technologies and believe that they deserve a much more prominent role in conversations about sustainability and machine reliability. This channel is my contribution to putting in the spotlight, but Prof. Ashlie Martini of UC Merced has also been tackling this unique challenge. In this conversation we tal...

Have you ever wondered why so many businesses do used oil analysis, but have no grease sampling program? I talked to Rich Wurzbach of MRG labs to find out the latest in grease analysis, and what makes it different from standard lubricant analysis. MRG YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/MRGLaboratories... MRG Website: greasethief.com