Development of cost-effective and eco-friendly permanent grease lubrication for the machine tool slildes

In this paper, permanent lubrication using grease with polymer for the sliders in the machine tool was developed and evaluated. Firstly, the grease with a polymer was developed for high cohesion property. The grease with a polymer has non-Newton property which can be followed with moving substances. Next, the W-rollers were developed for collecting and distributing of the grease around the slider in the machine tool permanently for the whole machine life. This device consists of the outside roller for collecting, holding and distribution of the grease and the inside roller for adjustment of thickness of the grease layer. Four W-rollers were fitted on the slider in the machine tool. Finally, the level of the “Eco-friendly” regarding the proposed method was evaluated by Life Cycle Assessment. It is concluded from the results that the permanent lubrication using grease with polymer and W-rollers for the slide in the machine tool was highly effective for both industrial and environment. This method is extremely useful for supporting both “Ecology” and “Economy” simultaneously.