3 Ways To Reduce Downtime And Costs Of Pneumatic Motors
Seized bearings, broken vanes, and poor motor performance can be frustrating for operators. These issues can lead to a loss in productivity, downtime, and job delays. To help avoid interruptions in motor performance, it is important to follow some routine maintenance and repair instructions.
With any tooling, there are associated maintenance costs and downtime, but many challenges with tooling can be avoided if proper operating procedures are followed and routine maintenance is completed. Reduce downtime and increase the amount of time you are rolling by following a few key guidelines.
Read the Tech Manual
The best defense is a good offense – don’t skip over the caution, safety and proper instruction and maintenance sections in the manual for your pneumatic motor. Reading the technical manual provided with your pneumatic motor ensures proper care in advance and helps avoid maintenance challenges later.
Properly Lubricate The Motor
Pneumatic motors require lubricant droplets in the air supply to provide internal components with lubrication. Improper lubrication results in friction and heat build-up, which can cause issues with performance. First, bearings can seize and stop operating at peak performance resulting in erratic torque and output RPM. Additionally, vanes or paddles can become brittle and break, causing other vanes to break when rotated against the broken parts.
Eliminate Air Contaminants In Intake & Exhaust
Contaminates like water, rust, dirt are just some of the items that when introduced into the air supply cause damage to the internal components of the air motors. Any air supply entering the motor should be filtered and monitored. Additionally, it’s important to ensure that the proper amount of exhaust air is being released through the muffler and/or exhaust filter. All filters should be checked and cleaned regularly to avoid maintenance challenges and decrease downtime.
Overall, in order to keep your rolling motor in optimal operating condition, it is important to follow routine maintenance and repair instructions.
