The gear box on linear actuators must be adequately lubricated to ensure a long life. The engineers at Warner Linear identified 5 key lubrication points on all gear boxes across its entire product line. Assembly line technicians had traditionally applied lubricant (grease) using a paint brush. This method was imprecise and it was impossible to receive ISO certification with an application method that was not quantifiable.

 

We developed a PLC based system, along with a greasing fixture, that allowed for precision grease metering and application onto the exact 5 critical locations. The system is accurate to +/- .005 ounces and the repeatability is equally precise. The system also has provisions for adding additional “recipes” in the event that new products with different greasing requirements are added to the production line.

 

The manufacturing engineer at Warner Linear is thrilled with the system; “Not only were we able to gain ISO certification, we’re also saving hundreds of dollars per month on grease.”