Lubricating grease, known as the "blood of modern industry", is one of the most effective means to reduce friction, minimize or avoid wear, improve work efficiency, and extend the operating life of equipment.

In modern industry, the power - transmission systems of most equipment face friction and wear problems. If these problems are not dealt with in a timely manner, they may cause sudden equipment failure. Given the unique characteristics of production lines, this could even trigger a series of "domino effects" such as toxic gas leakage. According to statistical data, approximately 80% of machine parts fail due to wear, and 59% of serious mechanical equipment accidents are caused by lubrication failure and excessive wear.

Therefore, scientific and effective equipment lubrication management has become a crucial part of the full - life - cycle management of industrial equipment, directly affecting its operating efficiency, service life, and safety.

01. From "Product" to "Product + Service"

The Call for Equipment Health Triggers a "New Revolution" in the Lubrication Industry

In the current highly competitive lubrication market, there are a large number of lubricant brands. After intense competition, the market is ready for a process of weeding out the weak.

Take the equipment lubrication and maintenance in coal mines as an example. In a modern underground coal mine, the equipment used includes roadheaders, shearers, scraper conveyors, belt conveyors, hydraulic supports, and blowers. The products involved cover hydraulic oil, industrial gear oil, compressor oil, and various lubricating greases. The specific application scenarios span various links such as the cleaning, rust - prevention, sealing, and buffering of mechanical parts.

The operation of these core equipment has high requirements for the structure of the lubrication system, oil supply, lubrication method, and the quality of lubricating oil. Lubricant manufacturers not only need to provide high - quality oil products but also professional services such as oil product recommendation, oil analysis and testing, equipment condition maintenance analysis, and post - treatment of oil products. This helps customers solve problems such as high lubricating oil sampling frequency, high equipment maintenance costs, and long - time personnel maintenance work. It also transforms the lubricating oil management from "repair - after - failure" and "preventive maintenance" to the mode of "real - time online monitoring of equipment lubrication status".

It can be seen that the future direction of the lubrication industry must be towards service - oriented marketing. Digital means should be used to achieve "nanny - style" services for the full - life - cycle application management of oil products, conduct "comprehensive inspections" of machinery and equipment, establish lubrication performance early - warning systems, and provide reports on improvement suggestions for equipment lubrication management. Precise services are provided through detailed diagnosis.

Lubricant manufacturers can use the diagnostic data of users' equipment to intelligently optimize the production process of matching oil products, achieving precise "care" for equipment.

02. Intelligent Operation and Maintenance across the Full Value Chain

Creating a New Model of "Nanny - style" Lubrication Service

If lubricating oil is the "blood" of equipment, then intelligent lubrication service is the "hematologist".

Just as the human immune system can "automatically monitor" and fight against bacterial and viral infections, mechanical equipment also needs "professional doctors" to diagnose the root causes of problems through the analysis and testing of "blood", ensuring a longer service life for both equipment and lubricating oil.

From the full - life - cycle management of lubricating oil after it is put into use to the equipment condition analysis and remote operation and maintenance based on oil analysis, Luculent, with its profound understanding of industrial equipment, focuses on the needs of customers in the lubricating oil aftermarket and has built a "one - stop" intelligent lubrication service platform. This helps lubricant enterprises improve customer satisfaction, increase product value - added, truly realize the transformation from the "product" model to the "product + service" model, and shift from a simple buying - selling relationship to providing value - added services to customers.

"Our professional IoT platform is used to collect and process key parameter data such as oil viscosity, water activity, NAS grade, wear particles, as well as equipment vibration analysis and process parameters. Based on the digital twin platform, analysis knowledge and expert experience are transformed into AI models. On the one hand, it can provide oil management services such as online oil detection, offline oil detection, oil spectrum analysis, and intelligent oil diagnosis. On the other hand, it can also offer equipment care services such as equipment operation detection, fault alarm, health evaluation, and analysis reports," introduced an expert from Luculent.

In addition, the platform provides a series of convenient services for customers. It supports customers to independently apply for lubrication services, view analysis reports, and builds a lubrication knowledge base based on historical application cases, service scenarios, equipment data, and oil product data. Relying on large - scale models, it provides efficient and personalized intelligent customer service. Users can consult lubrication knowledge, query equipment lubrication solutions at any time, and can also directly apply for lubrication knowledge training or participate in online courses from lubrication service providers.

Currently, the platform has been deployed and launched in multiple lubricant enterprises, successfully constructing a "nanny - style" technical service system for the full - life - cycle of lubricating oil. It has connected the data among enterprise R & D, production, service, and business models, driving continuous product iteration, improving product and service quality. At the same time, it has formed new business models such as value - added services for oil products and remote equipment operation and maintenance, helping lubricant enterprises achieve growth and market expansion goals, further enhancing the equipment's perception ability, the service's predictive ability, and the decision - making ability for scientific operation and maintenance, and achieving high - quality development.