Less friction & energy consumption
Efficient lubrication reduces friction losses and lowers the energy requirements of the drives.
Clean chains
Targeted application avoids dirt build-up - less cleaning effort, longer service life.
Planned maintenance
Controlled dosage and documented cycles make maintenance calculable.
Knowledge
Further content
Regulations and what they mean
Chains and conveyors are where most lubrication mistakes on a packaging line are made — because the visible part of the chain is not the part that needs lubricating.
| Location | What happens there |
|---|---|
| pin and bush | the actual wear point: chain elongation arises here |
| roller and bush | rolling friction, smaller share |
| roller and tooth | engagement friction at the sprocket |
| outer plate | no wear — where most of the applied lubricant ends up |
The lubricant has to enter the joint, not sit on the chain
Elongation arises in the gap between pin and bush, and lubricant only gets there by capillary action — which works with thin oil, not grease. Grease stays on the outside, looks like lubrication and never arrives; on a fast chain it is thrown off as well. Hence two rules: oil, not grease (unless the chain is expressly designed for grease), and apply at the inner plate on the slack side, so the oil has time to penetrate before the chain comes under load again.
Small amounts, often
A large dose at long intervals is mostly thrown off and lands on floor, product and packaging. Small frequent doses keep the film in the joint and cut consumption. Chain elongation is the measure of success: it can be measured on the chain and is the only reliable feedback that the oil reaches the joint. In food packaging the lubricant requirements of the food industry apply on top.
Lubricant selection, degradation and intervals on a packaging line
Three questions decide whether a chain lubrication concept holds on a packaging line: which lubricant, what destroys it and how often it has to be renewed. The short answers: a thin, adhesive oil rather than grease; washdown, product residue and heat rather than normal running; and — on a chain — not a change interval at all, but small doses applied continuously and verified by chain elongation.
What degrades the lubricant on a packaging conveyor
Chain oil on a packaging line rarely fails because it has worn out. It is removed, diluted or turned into an abrasive before it reaches that point.
| Cause | What it does to the lubricant | Consequence for the system |
|---|---|---|
| Washdown and cleaning agents | caustic and acidic media attack the additive package and wash the film out of the joint | protection is gone after cleaning, not after the shift — re-lubrication belongs after the wash, not before |
| Water ingress | displaces oil in the pin/bush gap and promotes corrosion in the joint | elongation accelerates even though the chain looks wet on the outside |
| Product residue | sugars, dairy, juices and powders bind with the oil into a sticky film | rollers stop turning, friction rises at the sprocket |
| Cardboard and packaging dust | absorbs oil and turns the film into an abrasive paste | the lubricant becomes the wear mechanism instead of preventing it |
| Heat | oxidation thickens the oil and leaves varnish and deposits | capillary action stops working: a thickened oil no longer enters the joint |
| Over-lubrication | surplus stays on the outer plate and collects everything in the air | the classic false positive — a wet chain that is dry where it matters |
| Mixing lubricants | incompatible thickeners and additives can separate or soften | one medium per system; document what is in it |
Which lubricant specification a packaging conveyor needs
There is no single correct product, but the properties that decide the outcome are consistent — and on a chain they are ranked differently than on a bearing.
| Property | Why it decides the result | What to specify |
|---|---|---|
| Penetration into the joint | wear happens between pin and bush; only a thin oil travels there by capillary action | oil, not grease, unless the chain is expressly built for grease |
| Viscosity at operating temperature | too thin and the film is squeezed out under load, too thick and it never reaches the joint | state the temperature at the chain, not the ambient temperature |
| Adhesion and water resistance | decides whether anything survives the next washdown | required wherever the line is cleaned wet |
| Food-contact approval | incidental contact must be permissible in the given zone | NSF H1 near the product, H2 only where contact is excluded — see what each certificate actually states |
| Temperature range | heat tunnels, shrink wrappers and cold stores each shift the working point | check the range against the hottest and coldest point on the line |
| Compatibility with cleaning media | lines, seals and fittings meet the cleaning agent, not only the lubricant | match materials to the cleaning regime, not just to the oil |
How often the lubricant has to be renewed
On a chain the useful question is not "when is it changed" but "how much arrives per hour". A chain is a loss-lubrication system: what is applied leaves the system with wear, throw-off and cleaning, so the answer is a continuous small dose rather than a refill date. The interval is therefore set by the machine, and verified — not assumed:
- Chain elongation is the measure of success. It is measurable on the chain and is the only reliable evidence that oil is reaching the joint. Rising elongation means the dose, the placement or the medium is wrong — not that the chain is old.
- Re-lubricate after cleaning, not on a fixed weekday. A washdown ends the previous lubrication regardless of what the schedule says.
- Check the system, not only the chain. DropsA's inspection rhythm for a centralised system sets out what belongs in the weekly and monthly checks — levels, leaks, metering elements, pressures and signal plausibility.
Extending lubricant life in practice
Everything that extends lubricant life on a packaging conveyor comes down to getting a smaller quantity to the right place more often, and keeping contamination out of it.
- Apply at the inner plate on the slack side so the oil has time to enter the joint before the chain is loaded again.
- Dose small amounts frequently instead of a large charge at long intervals — surplus does not lubricate, it collects dust and lands on product and floor.
- Deliver through a closed, metered system. Metered delivery is reproducible per point and provides a pressure, stroke or flow signal as proof; a grease gun provides an entry in a list. The comparison is set out under manual against automatic on the packaging line.
- Design the lubrication point to be cleanable — no open pockets or dead spaces where residue can sit, which is where the hygiene requirements meet the lubrication point.
- Keep one medium per system and record it, so a top-up cannot introduce an incompatible product.
Working out the dose and the application points for a specific line is what we do daily. Send us the chain type, the cleaning regime and the temperatures at the line and we will come back with a concrete metering concept — see the pumps and metering units or talk to our lubrication engineers.