Biocompatible lubricants Greater sustainability in the drivetrain

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Ringspann GmbH

FAULHABER Drive Systems

SIMTOS (Seoul International Machine Tool Show)

The freewheels from Ringspann are used, among other things, in the drive systems of ships, port cranes, and in hydro and offshore technology facilities. In line with the strict environmental regulations in these applications, all freewheel series are now also available with biodegradable lubricants.

Minimizing the ecological footprint of technical installations and improving the life cycle assessments of complex drive systems are now among the requirements that designers and development engineers must keep in mind when realizing competitive propulsion, running, and lifting equipment. In particular, in shipbuilding, the manufacture of port cranes, as well as in offshore, hydro, and mining technology, the use of environmentally friendly and sustainable drive units is gaining increasing importance. For this reason, Ringspann has conducted extensive test series in recent months, focusing on the use of biocompatible lubricants for freewheels.

The result is now clear: From now on, the company is able to provide its customers with any type of freewheel from its one-stop shop, beyond the standard version, also as a variant with a biodegradable lubricant. "This significantly expands the scope of action for designers of drivetrains with sea and groundwater contact—whether they use our freewheels for feed or overrunning functions or as backstops," says Manuel Assmann, freewheel specialist at Ringspann.

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Same price for the same performance

It is noteworthy,

• that the Ringspann freewheels with environmentally friendly lubricants are identical in design to the conventionally lubricated versions,

• that they have the same performance and

• that they also do not differ in price from the standard types.

"Since all parameters remain identical except for the use of biocompatible lubricants, a trouble-free 1:1 replacement of the freewheels can also be carried out during re-engineering, retrofitting, or maintenance—without compromising performance and with full cost transparency," Assmann emphasizes.

To achieve this result, Ringspann's freewheel experts tested various bio-lubricants on a specially constructed test bench and compared their performance data with those of conventional oils and greases. For this purpose, several ball-bearing and sealed clamping-piece complete freewheels of the globally used FB/FBE series were filled differently and subjected to a long-term test.

Important to know: In the freewheel direction, the inner ring of these freewheels can rotate relative to the outer ring. In the opposite direction, however, the inner ring engages with the outer ring through the clamping elements to form a frictional connection. This generates high radial forces between the raceways and clamping elements—and the lubricants. Loaded with a nominal torque of 200 newton meters (147.51 Pound-foot), the complete freewheels on the Ringspann test bench had to consistently handle a switching frequency of 4.5 cycles per second. "In this practical scenario, the wheat was quickly separated from the chaff, and we could clearly see which biocompatible lubricants meet our quality standards," reports Assmann.

Contribution to the implementation of sustainability concepts

With the ability to now provide all freewheels from its extensive portfolio with biodegradable lubricants, Ringspann makes a valuable contribution to the implementation of sustainability concepts targeted in many areas of drive technology. As mentioned, this is likely to benefit, in addition to designers in boat and yacht building and crane construction, especially manufacturers of drive systems for hydropower, offshore, and mining technology.

In addition, Ringspann freewheels with environmentally friendly lubricants are also likely to prove to be an ideal solution for the realization of marine and submarine installations—such as tidal power plants or lock systems. Assmann is confident: "Everywhere drivetrains can come into contact with sea or groundwater, and where the legislator prohibits or restricts the use of conventional lubricants, our biocompatible freewheel technology is a contemporary alternative in terms of sustainability."