A contrast of manual and automated mthods of grease dispensing in manufacturing. I make the case that by automating the process, the number of defects will be reduced and overall quality will be improved.
In the quality - conscious production environment of today, the application of grease is often overlooked or an afterthought. Even when methods such as "continuous improvement", "zero-defect" and "ISO900x" are employed, production greasing is still accomplished with outmoded and unreliable processes. When done well, automated greasing will help complete the product quality picture.
The Bad and the Ugly
There are many ways to apply grease to products in production. Probably the most common methods involve an operator using a brush or a syringe to apply the grease manually. When any process is operator-dependent, there the risk of parts being overlooked, and not greased at all. The parts that are greased, can have a large variance in the amount of grease applied, depending on the operator, mood, production rate, etc.
Others try to automate the dispensing by using a timed method of releasing grease through a nozzle. The result is an unknown amount of grease, and no way to sure that any grease was dispensed at all (the nozzle could be clogged). Still others automate the greasing process using the relatively cheap equipment that is intended for greasing bearings on presses and similar rotating machinery. Most bearing greasers do provide a consistent volume, and some even provide basic confirmation that a dispense cycle did occur. The problem is,bearing greasers are not designed for the high cycle rates encountered in automation. Slow cycle times and short component life are common.
In most cases, failure to apply grease during assembly will result in premature product failure and must be considered a manufacturing defect. Since all of the above methods are likely to produce at least some defective product, they are not suitable for production use.
Is enough too much?
Another common practice is to specify a volume of grease that is much greater than is really needed. Since the above application methods are so inaccurate and unreliable that overcompensating is one way to try to assure that enough grease gets on most of the parts. This can result in grease migrating out onto cosmetic surfaces, as well as adding unnecessary cost.
We Can Do Better
How can we overcome the weaknesses in the systems described above? Make a list of the attributes that a good dispensing system should have:
Justification
Clearly an automated greasing system will have a higher initial cost than the "old ways". This initial cost will be offset with savings on grease by using the optimal amount for the product design. Further savings can be realized in reduced labor time over applying the grease manually. Finally the big payoff - Elimination of warranty returns and recalls due to ungreased product making it out to customers.
Your Point?
Spending more up front to properly integrate automated greasing into an assembly operation will provide a short term return on investment and long term profit. Even more important - a reputation for providing quality products or assemblies.