Robot Maintenance: Grease and Robotic Gears

Grease allows indus­tri­al robot­ic arms to func­tion prop­er­ly, smooth­ly, and with­stand wear. Replac­ing robot grease is an impor­tant part of pre­ven­ta­tive main­te­nance and should be reg­u­lar­ly sched­uled accord­ing to the man­u­al of your spe­cif­ic robot brand and model. 

Greas­ing Robots with Plan­e­tary Gear Reduc­tion Units

Dif­fer­ent greas­es are used for dif­fer­ent mechan­i­cal com­po­nents and dif­fer­ent main­te­nance tasks. Robots with plan­e­tary gear reduc­tion units require grease replen­ish­ment every year. This process involves pump­ing the old grease out of the gear by inputting new grease into the unit. Plan­e­tary gear reduc­tion units also require re-greas­ing when they are replaced.

Moly­White

Moly­White, a het­eroge­nous mix­ture of grease and oil, has long been a stand­by for lubri­cat­ing robot­ic gears. It is impor­tant to know that the oil tends to sep­a­rate from the mix­ture and leak out of the seals, which are designed to keep out grease, not oil. The break­down of Moly­White robot grease can be caused by heat and oth­er fac­tors. A lot of times, the oil leak­ing gives the impres­sion that the seals are bro­ken, but they are actu­al­ly fine. 

VIGO

This Japan­ese robot grease aims to elim­i­nate some of the issues asso­ci­at­ed with pre­vi­ous robot grease options. While it con­tains many of the same ingre­di­ents, Vigo grease is less vis­cous than Moly­White and is report­ed to offer supe­ri­or per­for­mance. Many man­u­fac­tur­er are switch­ing from Moly­white to VIGO grease because it con­tains a larg­er quan­ti­ty of EP (extreme pres­sure) addi­tives such as Mollyb­de­num and Zinc compounds. 

Syn­thet­ic Lubricants

Robots​.com has its own line of robot­ic greas­es (to include vari­ants of Moly­White and VIGO) that include syn­thet­ics to enhance per­for­mance and longevi­ty of the robot. We have worked with engi­neers spe­cial­iz­ing in aero­space grade oils and lubri­cants to cre­ate a high­er grade grease for indus­tri­al robots. This par­tic­u­lar oil under­goes high­er lev­els of inspec­tion and scruti­ny, ensur­ing the best quality. 

One exam­ple of a high per­for­mance Robots​.com lubri­cant is the RWVG‑1, also called RW Tri­bol­ube VG‑1. It is a lithi­um-soap-thick­ened syn­thet­ic grease that is designed to per­form well under extreme pres­sure and heat. It’s oxi­da­tion resis­tance prop­er­ties make it rust resis­tant and able to under­go more wear and tear before need­ing replace­ment. The base-oil con­sists of syn­thet­ic hydro­car­bon oils & min­er­al oil. 

Greas­ing Oth­er Robot Components

A few oth­er robot com­po­nents also require greas­ing. For bear­ings and link arms, the ​“wheel bear­ing grease” Alva­nia EP‑2 is typ­i­cal­ly used. Robots with har­mon­ic dri­ves rarely require grease replace­ment. How­ev­er, when required (per­haps when a motor is replaced), a thick­er grease is used. 

Robot Grease Schedule

With­out the prop­er robot grease, reduc­tion gears can break down and jam. Keep sched­uled reminders to check gears and pre­ven­ta­tive main­te­nance checks to extend the life of your robot. Always fol­low the guid­ance pro­vid­ed in your spe­cif­ic robot man­u­al. Robots​.com offers var­i­ous robot grease options in a selec­tion of sizes. 

Are you look­ing to recon­di­tion or main­te­nance your robot entire­ly? We offer 3 lev­els of recon­di­tion­ing ser­vice options to get your robot back in tip-top shape. 

Con­tact the parts depart­ment online or call 877−762−6881 for pric­ing and more information.