How to Prepare for Growth in Industrial Automation

Selecting the proper lubricant is the key to avoiding performance disruptions.

The Chemours Company has submitted this post.

With advancing technology and a shrinking labor pool, the market for industrial automation and control systems is on a rapid rise. Installations of industrial robots tripled between 2010 and 2019, and in 2021, the number of robots used in factories worldwide was approaching 400,000. Over the next decade, the global market for industrial robots is expected to grow by more than 10 percent per year.

(Image: Chemours.)

(Image: Chemours.)

While this evolution in automation brings countless production efficiencies and savings in human capital cost, there is also a definite risk factor. The average plant production space uses more than 2,000 bearings, in addition to the many valves, seals and moving parts required in industrial automation.

All of these parts operate under incredibly high heat and immense friction for extended periods of time.

Without high-performing lubricants, these extreme conditions can increase bearing wear and corrosion of the components inside these industrial robots, quickly leading to mechanical breakdowns. In fact, poor lubrication accounts for more than 36 percent of premature bearing failures.

Protecting your Investments in Automation

How can manufacturers protect the large capital investment of factory automation and lower the expensive risk of failure? Proper lubrication is the key. While hydrocarbon-based greases and oils have long been considered the industry standard for equipment lubrication, much better alternatives are available.

With their unique chemistry, perfluoropolyether (PFPE) high-performance lubricants are specifically designed to stand up to extreme temperatures and conditions, such as those in industrial automation production environments, thereby reducing the risk of equipment failure. In addition, PFPEs are chemically inert, water and oil repellant, solvent-resistant, nonflammable, non-toxic and compatible with most common elastomers, plastics and metals.

In today’s automation applications, high-performance PFPE lubricants, such as Krytox lubricants, represent a step up in performance and longevity versus conventional lubricants. PFPEs outlast and outperform conventional hydrocarbons at high temperatures and pressures, and in environments subject to chemical contamination.

(Image: Chemours.)

(Image: Chemours.)

Here are a few of the benefits high-performing PFPE lubricants offer over conventional lubricants:

  1. Increase output: The longevity of high-quality lubricants helps equipment perform at optimal levels over longer periods of time.
  2. Avoid downtime: Large loads, high heat and high pressures create demanding conditions that can cause rapid part failure. PFPE greases and oils resist heat, reduce friction and are less prone to oxidation and breakdown than hydrocarbon-based greases and oils, qualities that can help prevent costly work stoppages.
  3. Reduce operating expenses: Production robots are a big investment, but the return is reduced when they aren’t working at their best. High-performing PFPE lubricants offer exceptional chemical and oxidation resistance and a longer functional life, helping maintain peak operational capacity for a greater return on your investment.

Lubricate with PFPEs for Long-Term Savings

Experts say that, at present, the implementation of robotics in industrial production has only reached half its full potential. While there is great anticipation for growth in this sector, there is also corresponding concern for the risk of breakdowns and downtime.

Though the initial outlay for Krytox lubricants might be greater than the hydrocarbon equivalents, the price difference can be recovered through reduced failures, downtime and maintenance costs—resulting in net savings over the long term. So, when choosing your next lubricant, choose wisely.

Krytox greases and oils are available in a variety of formulations suited to mechanical applications including gearboxes, bearings, industrial motors and rings and seals. Learn more about Krytox PFPE lubricants at krytox.com/industries.