Cold Gearbox Oil

Modified on Sunday, 01 February 2015 10:11 PM by mpieler — Categorized as: Extrusion Hints

Cold gearbox oil
Vol.20 #3, Dec. 1993

If you use chilled water to cool your extruder gearbox, be sure to include a temperature control, e.g., a Penn valve, in the cooling circuit to prevent the gearbox from getting too cold.

If the gearbox falls below the dew point, which can happen if the extruder is not run for an extended period, condensation can occur inside the gearbox and gear and bearing surfaces can be pitted.

Also, if the gearbox is too cold, the oil viscosity is higher than desired, and the separating forces between the gears can be greatly increased. This can reduce the life of the radial bearings.

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