Rolling Mill Lubrication

The size, cost, environment, and loading of rolling mill bearings is an ideal usage of an air-oil lubrication system. Using a specific type of flow divider the bearings can be lubricated from a single connection point per chock. The ability to divide the oil delivery allows one system to supply the proper amount of lubrication to all bearings from Backup Rolls to Side Guides and Loopers.

A typical schematic for a mill stand is shown below. Click on the image to see a larger image.

A typical system consists of a main unit which stores the oil to be used for lubrication. The main unit also features air handling and preparation system which is used to supply the air to the system. The oil is delivered from the main unit by a metering pump. Using this pump precise amounts of lube can be sent to the appropriate bearings. As an example the backup rolls typically require up to 8 times the oil as a work roll. A work roll will require many times more oil than an auxiliary roll (like a looper roll). The ability to divided Air-Oil streams greatly reduces the costs of installation and piping versus other types of systems.

Although the systems have a "typical" layout and requirements each system is usually slightly different and is customized for each mill. The level of monitoring also has an effect on the design of a system. A typical system would monitor the Air-Oil delivery to each of the main mill bearings. This monitoring ensures that lubrication is always reaching the bearing.