Making industrial gear oil

Challenge: Gear systems today are increasingly complex, with highly accurate cut teeth and finely finished surfaces. They’re also smaller, placing higher loads on the teeth and bearings. These loads, along with vibration and shock loading, can cause frequent gear pitting (particularly micropitting) in surface-hardened gears. And the systems run at higher temperatures. All of these factors demand high-quality lubricant performance.

How we can help: While modern gear-oil lubricants based on mineral oils provide good performance, synthetic gear oils offer a number of significant advantages, including:

• Improved thermal and oxidation resistance, enabling significantly longer oil life and operation at high temperatures
• Improved viscosity-temperature behavior for better performance and wear protection at extreme temperatures.
• Improved low-temperature properties for better wear protection and reduced churning losses
• Increased gear efficiency, reducing power requirements and oil temperature while extending component life
• Improved foam performance to control liquid lubricant and foam overflow

We also offer a range of formulation support including:

• Review of key industrial standards and specifications
• Guidance for base stock selection
• A fully approved industrial gear oil formulation that meets key OEM and industry approval

Market trends

2. Growth of synthetic base oils

Forecasts* predict approximately 0.5% annual growth in the global industrial gear oil market, reaching 988 kT by 2027. Synthetic industrial gear oils, however, are forecast to grow at nearly 5% per annum, from 112 kT in 2018 to 168 kT by 2027.

* Source: Kline Inc.