National Lubricating Grease Institute

Last updated April 27, 2019

The National Lubricating Grease Institute is an international trade association that serves the grease and gear lubricant industry. It exists to promote research and development of lubrication technology. It also publishes industry standards for greases.

A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association participates in public relations activities such as advertising, education, political donations, lobbying and publishing, but its focus is collaboration between companies. Associations may offer other services, such as producing conferences, networking or charitable events or offering classes or educational materials. Many associations are non-profit organizations governed by bylaws and directed by officers who are also members.

Grease is a semisolid lubricant. Grease generally consists of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil. The characteristic feature of greases is that they possess a high initial viscosity, which upon the application of shear, drops to give the effect of an oil-lubricated bearing of approximately the same viscosity as the base oil used in the grease. This change in viscosity is called shear thinning. Grease is sometimes used to describe lubricating materials that are simply soft solids or high viscosity liquids, but these materials do not exhibit the shear-thinning properties characteristic of the classical grease. For example, petroleum jellies such as Vaseline are not generally classified as greases.

A gear or cogwheel is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or in the case of a cogwheel, inserted teeth, which mesh with another toothed part to transmit torque. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source. Gears almost always produce a change in torque, creating a mechanical advantage, through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a simple machine. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape. Two or more meshing gears, working in a sequence, are called a gear train or a transmission. A gear can mesh with a linear toothed part, called a rack, producing translation instead of rotation.

History

The NLGI was incorporated by a small number of U.S. companies in 1933 to create a code for the National Recovery Act. The original name of the organization was the National Association of Lubricating Grease Manufacturers, Inc. The name was changed in 1937 as the industry recognized the need for a joint development and standards association and membership grew.^[1]

The NLGI is a not-for-profit corporation whose membership includes grease manufacturers and sales organizations, associated equipment manufacturers, industry suppliers, service organizations, research and educational groups. Membership is open to corporations and individuals.

According to information posted by the NLGI in 2004, the institute has member organizations in 26 countries, while subscriptions to its journal, the NLGI Spokesman, represent 50 countries.

Standards

In cooperation with ASTM International and SAE International, the NLGI has developed the categorisation of lubricating greases specified in standard ASTM D4950“standard classification and specification for automotive service greases”, reproduced in standard SAE J310“automotive lubricating greases”.^[2] The NLGI retains jurisdiction over the designation and definition of the categories, which it publishes in its “chassis and wheel bearing service classification system”. The NLGI has also created a symbol, the NLGI Certification Mark, which can be used on containers of greases to advertise their ASTM D4950 category.

ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. Some 12,575 ASTM voluntary consensus standards operate globally. The organization's headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about 5 mi (8.0 km) northwest of Philadelphia.

SAE International, initially established as the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a U.S.-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. Principal emphasis is placed on transport industries such as automotive, aerospace, and commercial vehicles.

The measure of the consistency of a lubricating grease is commonly expressed by its NLGI consistency number, defined by the NLGI in the “standard classification of lubricating grease”. The NLGI consistency number is used in several standards: ASTM D4950, SAE J310 and ISO 6743-9“lubricants, industrial oils and related products (class L) — classification — part 9: family X (greases)”.^[3]

The NLGI consistency number expresses a measure of the relative hardness of a grease used for lubrication, as specified by the standard classification of lubricating grease established by the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI). Reproduced in standards ASTM D4950(“standard classification and specification of automotive service greases”) and SAE J310(“automotive lubricating greases”), NLGI's classification is widely used. The NLGI consistency number is also a component of the code specified in standard ISO 6743-9“lubricants, industrial oils and related products — classification — part 9: family X (greases)”.

The International Organization for Standardization is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

The NLGI also administers a professional certification program. Individuals passing an examination designed to test their knowledge in the field of lubricating grease obtain the Certified Lubricating Grease Specialist (CLGS) certification.

Related Research Articles

A lubricant is a substance, usually organic, introduced to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, transporting foreign particles, or heating or cooling the surfaces. The property of reducing friction is known as lubricity.

Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any of various substances comprising base oils enhanced with additives, particularly antiwear additive plus detergents, dispersants and, for multi-grade oils viscosity index improvers. Motor oil is used for lubrication of internal combustion engines. The main function of motor oil is to reduce friction and wear on moving parts and to clean the engine from sludge and varnish (detergents). It also neutralizes acids that originate from fuel and from oxidation of the lubricant (detergents), improves sealing of piston rings, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.

Timken OK Load is a standardized measurement that indicates the possible performance of extreme pressure (EP) additives in a lubricating grease or oil. The units of measurement are pounds-force or kilograms-force. This measurement is performed using a special test machine and standard block and ring test specimens.

Gear oil is a lubricant made specifically for transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials in automobiles, trucks, and other machinery. It is of a high viscosity and usually contains organosulfur compounds. Some modern automatic transaxles do not use a heavy oil at all but lubricate with the lower viscosity hydraulic fluid, which is available at pressure within the automatic transmission. Gear oils account for about 20% of the lubricant market.

Gray iron, or grey cast iron, is a type of cast iron that has a graphitic microstructure. It is named after the gray color of the fracture it forms, which is due to the presence of graphite. It is the most common cast iron and the most widely used cast material based on weight.

Lithium soap, often loosely referred to as "lithium grease" or "white lithium", is a soap that is a lithium derivative. Lithium soaps are primarily used as components of certain lubricant greases.

Lubricity is the measure of the reduction in friction and or wear by a lubricant. The study of lubrication and wear mechanisms is called tribology.

Lincoln Industrial Corporation (Lincoln) is a manufacturer of automated lubrication systems, manual lubrication equipment and industrial pumping systems, and subsidiary of Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB (SKF). Founded in 1910, the company has been responsible for many of the inventions that established modern lubrication practices in automotive maintenance and industry.

Aerospace bearings are the bearings installed in aircraft and aerospace systems including commercial, private, military, or space applications.

Koehler Instrument, or Koehler, is a US company which provides petroleum and petrochemical testing equipment and technical support services to testing laboratories worldwide. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Holtsville, NY and the manufacturing headquarters is in Bohemia, NY.

Oilite is a porous bronze or iron alloy commonly impregnated with an oil lubricant and used in bearings. The original Oilite and Oilite Plus are bronze alloys, while Super Oilite and Super Oilite 16 are iron-based. Oilite was developed by Chrysler in 1930, originally for use in bearings for water pumps and spring shackles, and without oil as the porous filter element in gasoline filters. Chrysler sold approximately 500,000 Oilite bearings in 1930 and approximately 2.5 million the next year. The Super Oilite was introduced in 1932. Overall sales of all Oilite material in 1932 was seven million; this rose to 18 million in 1933. Oilite was a profit center for Chrysler during this time. Currently, the Oilite trademark belongs to Beemer Precision.

Nye Lubricants Manufacturer of industrial lubricants

Nye Lubricants, Inc. is a manufacturer of industrial lubricants. It formulates, manufactures, and sells synthetic lubricants, thermal coupling compounds, index-matching optical gels and fluids. Nye supplies the automotive, computer printer, disc drive, mobile appliance, aerospace, defense and HB-LED OEM markets. The company also manufactures industrial maintenance lubricants for incidental food contact, high temperature and other extreme environments.

The Petromin Corporation is a Saudi Arabian lubricants and automotive services company, operating in lubricant oils including manufacturer, industrial, and automotive oils and lubricants, car servicing, fuel retailing and car dealerships. The company is one of the "Major Leading Players" of the lubricating grease Industry.

Founded in 2009, "Runningland Metrology & Testing (Shanghai) Co., Ltd" is a Shanghai-based accredited third party laboratory that specializes in instruments metering, condition monitoring, calibration and testing petrochemical products. The company was founded by David Zhou, who is an active member of STLE ASTM D2 Committee, and SAE, and co-founded by Ti Zhou who is a member of Shanghai Lubrication Trade Association. As a commercial third party laboratory, the organization also collaborates with educational institutions and research associations across China. Oil analysis is still a relatively developing idea and has become an increasingly important concept in The People's Republic of China. Because the oil analysis market in China is growing, Runningland has developed a lab that specializes in grease testing. In 2015, STLE has published a report indicating its previous activities and plans to expand into the China market by organizing the China Advisory Council, which consists of 15 prominent members of China's lubrication industry including David Zhou, Chairman and Co-founder of Runningland.

SAE J306 is a standard that defines the viscometric properties of automotive gear oils, maintained by SAE International. Key parameters for this standard are the kinematic viscosity of the gear oil, the maximum temperature at which the oil has a viscosity of 150,000 cP, and a measure of its shear stability through the KRL test.

DN Factor, also called DN Value, is a number that is used to determine the correct base oil viscosity for the lubrication of various types of bearings.

References

↑ Cowan, Sandy (January 2007). "What is NLGI?". Machinery Lubrication. Noria Corporation. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
↑ Totten, George E.; Westbrook, Steven R.; Shah, Rajesh J., eds. (2003). Fuels and lubricants handbook: technology, properties, performance, and testing (volume 1). “ASTM manual” series, volume 37 (7th ed.). ASTM International. p. 560. ISBN 978-0-8031-2096-9.
↑ Rand, Salvatore J., ed. (2003). Significance of tests for petroleum products. “ASTM manual” series, volume 1 (7th ed.). ASTM International. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-8031-2097-6.

External links

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[1] Cowan, Sandy (January 2007). "What is NLGI?". Machinery Lubrication. Noria Corporation. Retrieved 2012-02-09.

[2] Totten, George E.; Westbrook, Steven R.; Shah, Rajesh J., eds. (2003). Fuels and lubricants handbook: technology, properties, performance, and testing (volume 1). “ASTM manual” series, volume 37 (7th ed.). ASTM International. p. 560. ISBN 978-0-8031-2096-9.

[3] Rand, Salvatore J., ed. (2003). Significance of tests for petroleum products. “ASTM manual” series, volume 1 (7th ed.). ASTM International. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-8031-2097-6.