central oilers & metering & such

[Mcgyver]

any of you guys deeply understand central oiler systems and line meters, ones like

http://www.tricocorp.com/products/pr...aspx?c=14&p=33

i take it you put pressurized oil at a manifold to which various lines connect, each having one of these meters where it enters the machine's casting or wherever. the sizing of the central bore & piston in the meter determines the relative flow, ie if you had 5 lines, you might want 1&2 each getting twice the oil as 3,4&5....is that more or less correct? this sounds fine and good except that it doesn't take into account differences in flow resistance down stream from the meter....so its a bit hit and miss whether the oil actually goes where you want it, right? you may want X amount of oil in line 1&2 but 1 say has far more resistance that 2, they're not going to get equal amounts then.....or do you guess at this when you're sizing the meter to use for the line?

how well do these work? for example and are there any rules of thumb on the relative dia of bore and piston? anyone make their own meters?

i had an alternative idea; a system with each line was in turn connected to the oil under pressure, and different volumes would be delivered by exposing the line for different lengths of time, or rather each line is exposed to the pump for a % of the pump's stroke (instead of all lines being connected together and meters controlling how much oil goes where). the advantage would be you don't have to buy or make the meters and more positive control over where the oil is going. The idea would be a diy central oiling system with its own hand pump. I just don't have very much experience with central oilers and half wonder if I'm dreaming up solutions needing a problem?

[rkepler]

Flow resistance really only occurs as a function of the flow rate. Since these guys are running at a rate measured in ml/hour you really don't worry about line resistance. You can calculate the flow through a meter given a line pressure to a very accurate degree, and the various sizes of meters allows you to put the right amount in each delivery point.

As to how well they work - very well indeed. Most of the top line equipment use oil meters in one form or another. A mill's once shot oiler feeds a metered system. My Monarch had an apron pump that feeds a set of about 6 oilers. When I got the lathe most of the oilers were still working after 50 years in a hostile industrial environment, I'm still using the original Bijur pump.

[lane]

The meters work fine it is just figuring out what you need and where so they all deliver the right amount at the same time up or down stream.some times that can be a pain.I have used adgusatable metering valves so once i get it like i want I stamp the valve with the number of turnes out from close to make shure they stay set.

[BobWarfield]

Mcgyver, my notes on one shot oilers are on my project page (yep, it's on my list):

http://www.thewarfields.com/cnccookb...istFutures.htm

The links there may be useful to you. I recall one of the Bridgeport guys just put a valve on each and by watching the motion of the oil in the tubing (it was plastic), he could tell when he'd gotten it all balanced out properly.

That fella was Mxtras and its his system I've pictured on my entry on my page. There is a link as well.

Best,

BW

[beckley23]

This is the saddle lube system of a Cincinnati #4 mill. There are 2 pumps, one you just to the right of the manifold, and one is buried in the knee. The oil sump is in the knee. Each pump supplies one side of the manifold. The sump is about 3-4' away as the tubing runs. The pumps are actuated by the feed levers. No problems with supply, although if the machine has been sitting for any length of time, I'll stroke the feed levers several times.

Harry

[Rich Carlstedt]

There are 3 methods to oil machine parts:

1.You can hook all the points to a central manifold and "flood" the bearing/ways for a certain time. The loosest part, gets the most oil.
oil pressure is not a factor.

2. You can install a "meter" system as you mentioned. Each point has a "Flow Regulator" or "Meter" to control the rate for that application.
This method is very common on many machine tools. it is also used with 'One Shot" lubrication pumps. it usually operates at around 50 PSI.

3 You can use a "Injector' system to get very acurate lube flow.
It looks very similar to the above BUT has a big distinction ! At each lube point, a 'injector" is installed that feeds only a predetermned amout of oil.
When the main pump builds up pressure, oil goes into a spring loaded chamber at each injector. when the oil pressure falls (pump stops )
the injector closes the port (back to the pump) and injects oil into the lube point.
In otherwords, oils flows ONLY when the pump stops ! The stroke of each injector determines the volume. (Some Linclon Lube injectors are adjustable !)
This is a very positive method, but does require higher pump pressures (300 to 800 PSI) in most cases to charge the injector .
My Hurco and most CNC mills use such a system.
I have a manual pump, but it is not a one shot
See DropsA (Mfg )website for more info, or lincoln Lube, but lincoln is most famous for grease injectors (800 to 5 K PSI)

Rich

PS The injectors cost about 5 bucks apiece