Tips to extend the life of industrial equipment

February 10, 2025

It goes without saying that heavy machinery, particularly industrial, mining and farming equipment, requires constant maintenance in order to keep the machinery in top condition and working at its optimum. With all those internal components such as Sirem gearboxes, Spaggiari gear-motors, Sitex st couplings and Trasco flexible couplings simultaneously working inside a machine, if a component does wear down and become damaged, the machinery will inevitably run inefficiently.

As machinery breakdowns are costly and safety needs to be a priority, it pays to keep industrial equipment and its internal components in good working order.

Take a look at the following five tips to help extend the life of industrial parts.

Check for signs of wear

As we wrote in a previous blog, whether it’s a Sferax linear bearing that’s faulty or a Pujol muntala gearbox that’s ceased up, inefficiently running equipment will cost a business time and money.

It is therefore important to regularly check for signs of wear. One way to detect machinery wear is to look for vibration. A piece of equipment that is excessively vibrating can be a sign that gears and belts are out of alignment. In order to avoid contaminants being sucked into the cab, breathers should also be kept clean. Filters should also be inspected and changed regularly to help avoid clutches, gearboxes and other industrial components becoming clogged.

As our blog about protecting bearings explains, bearings can be protected from the elements by using bearing housings, ultimately helping to extend the life of industrial machinery.

Keep machinery clean

Whether it’s a Steelflex grid coupling, a worm gearbox or Zurrer multi-stage geared units, industrial components can cease to work at their most efficient when hampered in dust and other debris.

In order to extend the life on industrial equipment, it is therefore important you keep machinery clean. Seals should be inspected regularly to make sure they are kept in good working condition.

Have a maintenance and repair schedule

For preventative maintenance, fluids, tracks, tires and electrical systems should be amongst the components that are checked regularly.

From worm gearboxes to Sumitomo gearboxes, Parallel shift gearboxes to Kumera gearboxes, all types of industrial gearboxes should also be regularly inspected for vibration, lubrication and damage to parts.

Gears should also be lubricated frequently.

Bearings are essential in ensuring the force of machinery runs smoothly and are a vital component to industrial equipment performance. Anything from Sferax linear bearings to Amt linear bearings, the lubrication of all bearings should be checked often in order to extend their life.

Have you got any tips on how to extend the life on industrial parts and machinery? If so, please let us know.