Oilite
Encyclopedia
Oilite is a bronze
or iron
alloy
impregnated with an oil
lubricant
commonly used in bearing
applications. The original Oilite and Oilite Plus are bronze alloys, but the related bearing alloys Super Oilite and Super Oilite 16 are iron based. The name is trademark
ed by Beemer Precision.
so that tiny pores are present in the metal. The pores are then vacuum
impregnated with an oil to improve the materials bearing ability. The material holds approximately 20% oil by volume. The most common lubricant is SAE 30 oil.
Due to the porous structure, machining
Oilite poses a special situation. To machine Oilite, the cutting tool
must be sharp and stay sharp; therefore, tungsten carbide
is often used. The sharp tool preserves the open-pore structure, because a dull tool would smear the material and close up the pores that are on the surface adjacent to the journal, which is where the lubrication needs to be. Reaming is not recommended, but can be done with a dead sharp tool. Honing
and grinding
should not be performed on any surface that is in contact with the journal as these processes always smear the pores.
-B-5687D Type 1 Grade 1, CT-1000-K26, SAE
841, and old SAE standard Type 1 Class A.
(PTFE). This reduces the friction
by approximately 17% over standard Oilite material. This material is usually used in applications that exhibit mixed-film or boundary condition lubrication. Situations where this type of lubrication is encountered commonly include oscillating motions, slow speeds, intermittent use, pulsating loads, and uneven loads.
, winch
es, sheave
s, conveyors, and pulley
s. Applicable standards are: ASTM B-438-95 Grade 4, MIL-B-5687D Type 2 Grade 4, SAE 863, and old SAE standard Type 3.
Super Oilite 16 is just a Super Oilite that has been heat treated to a hardness greater than HRC 50. This material is used for extreme loads and slow oscillating motions. Common applications include cranes
, hoist
s, machine press
es, and conveyors. The applicable standard is ASTM B-426 Grade 4 Type 2.
in 1930. It was originally used in water pump
s, spring shackles
, and fuel filter
s. Chrysler sold approximately a half million 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 and 18 million in 1933. Oilite was a profit center for Chrysler during this time.
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
or iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
impregnated with an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
lubricant
Lubricant
A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...
commonly used in bearing
Bearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
applications. The original Oilite and Oilite Plus are bronze alloys, but the related bearing alloys Super Oilite and Super Oilite 16 are iron based. The name is trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed by Beemer Precision.
Composition
Oilite is formed using powder metallurgyPowder metallurgy
Powder metallurgy is the process of blending fine powdered materials, pressing them into a desired shape , and then heating the compressed material in a controlled atmosphere to bond the material . The powder metallurgy process generally consists of four basic steps: powder manufacture, powder...
so that tiny pores are present in the metal. The pores are then vacuum
Vacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
impregnated with an oil to improve the materials bearing ability. The material holds approximately 20% oil by volume. The most common lubricant is SAE 30 oil.
Due to the porous structure, machining
Machining
Conventional machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, in which a collection of material-working processes utilizing power-driven machine tools, such as saws, lathes, milling machines, and drill presses, are used with a sharp cutting tool to physical remove material to achieve a desired...
Oilite poses a special situation. To machine Oilite, the cutting tool
Cutting tool
In the context of machining, a cutting tool is any tool that is used to remove material from the workpiece by means of shear deformation. Cutting may be accomplished by single-point or multipoint tools. Single-point tools are used in turning, shaping, plaining and similar operations, and remove...
must be sharp and stay sharp; therefore, tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbide is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially, tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide. In its most basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery,...
is often used. The sharp tool preserves the open-pore structure, because a dull tool would smear the material and close up the pores that are on the surface adjacent to the journal, which is where the lubrication needs to be. Reaming is not recommended, but can be done with a dead sharp tool. Honing
Honing
Honing may refer to:* Honing , machining a surface by scrubbing an abrasive stone against it* Sharpening edged tools with a manual hone* Henkjan Honing , Dutch musician* Honing, Norfolk, English village* Playing Heroes of Newerth...
and grinding
Grinding (abrasive cutting)
Grinding is an abrasive machining process that uses a grinding wheel as the cutting tool.A wide variety of machines are used for grinding:* Hand-cranked knife-sharpening stones * Handheld power tools such as angle grinders and die grinders...
should not be performed on any surface that is in contact with the journal as these processes always smear the pores.
| Copper [%] | Iron [%] | Graphite [%] | Tin [%] | Other elements (max.) [%] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilite | 87.2–90.5 | 1 max. | 0–0.3 | 9.5–10.5 | 1.0 |
| Super Oilite | 18–22 | Balance | - | - | 2.0 |
| Super Oilite 16 | 18–22 | Balance | 0.6–1.0 | - | 2.0 |
Types
The types of Oilite list below pertain to the material and not the impregnated oil. Many types of oil are impregnated to facilitate various applications, such as high and low speed, high and low load, various temperature ranges, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance, and plastic compatibility.Oilite
Oilite material is the most widely used of all the types of Oilites. Standards that encompass the Oilite material are: ASTM B-438-95A Grade 1 Type II, MILMil
-Organizations:* Mapuche International Link, an organization which campaigns on behalf of the Mapuche people* Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, a UK-based body serving professional linguists worldwide...
-B-5687D Type 1 Grade 1, CT-1000-K26, SAE
SAE International
SAE International is an organization for engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. The Society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others.SAE...
841, and old SAE standard Type 1 Class A.
Oilite Plus
Oilite Plus is the same bronze alloy as an Oilite, the difference is that it is impregnated with turbine oil and fine particles of polytetrafluoroethylenePolytetrafluoroethylene
Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....
(PTFE). This reduces the friction
Friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
by approximately 17% over standard Oilite material. This material is usually used in applications that exhibit mixed-film or boundary condition lubrication. Situations where this type of lubrication is encountered commonly include oscillating motions, slow speeds, intermittent use, pulsating loads, and uneven loads.
Super Oilite
Super Oilite is an iron based material that is harder, stronger, and cheaper than Oilite. The disadvantage is that it is rated for slower speeds, but it can handle higher loads. Common applications include farm equipmentFarm equipment
Agricultural machinery is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.-Soil cultivation:*Cultivator*Cultipacker*Chisel plow*Mulch tiller*Harrow**Spike harrow**Drag harrow...
, winch
Winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...
es, sheave
Sheave
A sheave is a wheel or roller with a groove along its edge for holding a belt, rope or cable. When hung between two supports and equipped with a belt, rope or cable, one or more sheaves make up a pulley. The words sheave and pulley are sometimes used interchangeably.A sheave can also refer to a...
s, conveyors, and pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
s. Applicable standards are: ASTM B-438-95 Grade 4, MIL-B-5687D Type 2 Grade 4, SAE 863, and old SAE standard Type 3.
Super Oilite 16 is just a Super Oilite that has been heat treated to a hardness greater than HRC 50. This material is used for extreme loads and slow oscillating motions. Common applications include cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
, hoist
Hoist
Hoist may refer to:*Hoist , a machine for lifting loads*hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable*Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine* Hoist , another machine...
s, machine press
Machine press
A machine press, commonly shortened to press, is a machine tool that changes the shape of a workpiece.-Servomechanism:A servomechanism press, also known as a servo press or a electro press, is a press driven by an AC servo motor. The torque produced is converted to a linear force via a ball screw....
es, and conveyors. The applicable standard is ASTM B-426 Grade 4 Type 2.
Comparison
| Oilite | Super Oilite | Super Oilite 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density [g/cm3] | 6.4–6.8 | 5.8–6.2 | 6.0–6.4 |
| Minimum porosity [% oil by vol.] | 19 | 19 | 15 |
| Strength constant (K) | 26,500 | 40,000 | 60,000 |
| Tensile strength [psi] | 14,000 | 22,000 | 32,000 |
| Elongation [% in 1"] | 1 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Yield strength in compression [psi] | 11,000 | 22,000 | 40,000 |
| Material | PV | Static P [psi] | Dynamic P [psi] | V |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilite | 50,000 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 1,200 |
| Super Oilite | 35,000 | 20,000 | 4,000 | 225 |
| Super Oilite 16 | 75,000 | 50,000 | 8,000 | 35 |
History
The Oilite bearing was developed by ChryslerChrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
in 1930. It was originally used in water pump
Water Pump
Water Pump is one of the neighbourhoods of Gulberg Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is near main Water Pump that supplies fresh water to the city of Karachi....
s, spring shackles
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
, and fuel filter
Fuel filter
A fuel filter is a filter in the fuel line that screens out dirt and rust particles from the fuel, normally made into cartridges containing a filter paper. They are found in most internal combustion engines....
s. Chrysler sold approximately a half million 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 and 18 million in 1933. Oilite was a profit center for Chrysler during this time.