To define lubrication in general we need to start the concept that any moving metal couple must be lubricated. Starting from this, it is easy to understand the importance of lubrication in every production system and also in everything “that moves”.
But what does lubricating mean?

It means to reduce friction coefficient between two metal surfaces moving in contact. This reduction helps considerably in reducing the power needed for the movement, and also the heat produced by the movement.

Usually we divide lubricant oils and their applications in two main groups:
1) Lubricant oils for motor car use
2) Lubricant oils and functional fluids for industries.

A “common man” (not working in this field) usually knows the first ones (oils for cars and motorcycle engines), but industrial oils are less known in their different kinds and applications. Oils for engines and transmissions have a constant evolution in performance. These products and their performance respond to performance standards decided by national and international rules, and to minimum standards decided by automobile producers. They are defined “products with specific”. We can easily see this certification on instruction booklets of the veichles, and also on oil cans where we can see tags such as: SAE 5W4O, ACEA A3-B3-E3, API SHCD. These tags, unintelligible by a “common man, describe performance qualities of the oil and its apt application. We will not go on in this article with precise explanations about this subject, we will just say that these tags specify physical-chemical characteristics, viscosity, performance level, Km to be run before a new oil change and the properties with different climate.

Concentrating on industrial oils we find a higher complexity in application and in chemical composition.
In Italy the consumption of lubricant oils is 600000 tons/year, about 40% are for industrial applications.
Also in the industrial field there are international rules to decide performance standards, but very often the products and their formulas must be changed to fit a particular production system.

We can divide industrial oils in:
a) Lubricant oils, used to lubricate
b) Functional fluids, related to a specific production system where lubrication is not a primary function

Industrial lubricant oils (a) are used for gears, bearings and movements in general in an industrial machine. Another important group is made by oils for slides and tracks of the machines; they must avoid the contact between the two moving pieces and also vibrations and rippings during the start and stop phases. Another category is made by greases, used to lubricate bearings and systems where fluids would be hard to use, due to the shape of the pieces to be lubricated.

Functional fluids (b) are divided in different categories depending on the process they are applied in:

- Hidraulic oils and fluids, whose primary function is to transmit power through pressure.
- Protective oils and fluids, whose primary function is to protect metal surfaces from corrosion.
- Lubricant-refrigerating oils and fluids, whose primary function is to take away the heat from the machine and the piece, and to avoid welding of the shavings or the leftovers on the machine.
- Deformation oils and fluids, whose function is lubricant and also protective, anti-corrosion and refrigerating.

- Separating oils and fluids, whose primary function is to avoid is to prevent retention of molten metal on the ingot or the ingot machine.
- Separating oils and fluids for construction work, whose primary function is to help separating concrete from mould.
We are going to stop here the examples for industrial fluids, because we think that we already gave an idea of the complexity and the variety of the possible kinds of applications.
In the field of industrial applications is essential to analyze the complete production system to optimize a product that can respond to the needs of the process at a technical/performing level, and also for ecological/environmental and security standards.
It is always more important also the subject related to the costs for the disposal of exausted fluids, that selects primary materials used for the preparation of the fluids.
Lubricant products “with specific” can be easily categorized for both production and composition elements, therefore they are defined commodities, meaning products for conventional uses.
Functional fluids, because they must be adapted to special applications, are defined specialties.
Looking to the worldwide market, specialties are 8,5% of total consumption ( industrial oils and commodities 36%- motorcar oils 55,5%), but for companies specialized in the development and sale of specialties, the relation changes considerably. It is the case of Fuchs Group that divides its sales as follows:

31% specialties
31% industrial oils and commodities
38% motorcar oils

Fuchs Group, independent producer and leader worldwide, is specialized in functional fluids and specialties. Fro this reason Fuchs needs an important research and development structure and application enegineering to gather, in the first step, all the information about the production system and to transform it in special formulas for different applications.

To understand the effort we need to tell that 8% of their workers is employed in research with an investment equal to 4% of their annual total sales.
Fuchs, leader in special lubricant oils, was founded in 1931 and has its base in Germany.
It is quoted in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Zurich stock exchange and has seats all over the world with 3600 employees.

The Italian seat is in Buttigliera d’Asti, and here are some numbers:
-50000000 euros total sales
-100 employees
-direct and undirect sale network
-production plant and research department
-certified UNI EN ISO 9001:2000

Fuchs Italia with its wide range of products can satisfy the needs of any production system.
Products from Fuchs Italia, industry division:
-Ecocool (emulsifiable/solubile oils for asportation of the shaving)
-Ecocut (entire oils for asportation of the shaving)
-Ecoform/Renoform (oils for cold deformation)
-Lubrodal (oil for hot deformation)
-Anticorit (protective oils)
-Renolit (greases)
-Renolin (hydraulic oils)
-Renep/Renolin (oils for tracks and slides, turbines, compressors, gears and reductors)
-Thermisol/Temprasol (oils for thermic treatments)
-Ratakleen/Renoclean (cleaners and detergents)
-Gamma PLANTO (biodegradabile oils for engines, gears, hydraulic uses and metalworking)
-Prodotti vari (separating oils for construction work, oils for tansformers, white oils and sylicon oils)

We hope our contribution has been useful to introduce you in the world of lubrication.

Article written in collaboration with:
Fuchs Lubrificanti S.p.A.
www.fuchslubrificanti.it

By Eleonora Chiais