Combine harvesters are highly complex machines that not only cut but also thresh crops. Automatic lubrication systems ensure a consistent supply of oil to critical components, reducing wear and facilitating maintenance.
Specialized harvesting machines such as grape harvesters, sugar cane or cotton harvesters, as well as potato, beet, or olive harvesters, are among the most technically complex in agricultural machinery. Despite different designs, the lubrication requirements of many components are similar.
Even after the harvest, the work in the fields is often not over. Straw and other feed must be processed safely and efficiently for winter feeding. Balers perform this task and are subjected to considerable stress.
Tractor attachments and trailers make farming operations truly flexible: Whether cultivators, mowers, balers, or transport trailers – they perform a wide variety of tasks in rotation. This creates over 60 potential lubrication points that require regular lubrication to ensure smooth operation over the long term.
The tractor is one of the most heavily used machines on a farm. It performs a wide variety of tasks in arable farming, grassland management, and transport – often in continuous operation under varying loads.
Wheel loaders are key machines on many construction sites and in bulk material handling. They lift, transport, and relocate heavy loads – day after day. This places high forces on hydraulic cylinders, joints, and bearings.
Bulldozers perform heavy-duty work on construction sites, in earthworks, road construction, and infrastructure projects. They must reliably level, distribute, and compact material – and do so over long periods of operation. To avoid breakdowns, consistent lubrication of all relevant components is essential.
Dump trucks transport heavy bulk materials on unpaved surfaces – often in harsh weather conditions. They are constantly exposed to dust, moisture, and vibrations. Bearings, bolts, and joints are particularly vulnerable.
Mobile cranes must lift loads safely and move them precisely under demanding conditions. To ensure these performances are consistently maintained, reliable lubrication of the numerous moving components is essential.
Mini excavators perform precise work in confined spaces – in civil engineering, excavations, gardening and landscaping, or on small construction sites. Despite their compact design, they are subject to high mechanical stress. Regular lubrication of all moving components is crucial to ensure smooth and long-lasting operation.
Excavators perform demanding tasks every day, such as loosening, lifting, crushing, and loading soil, rock, or construction debris. Proper lubrication is essential to ensure they can withstand these stresses over the long term.
Construction machinery is subjected to constant stress: rough terrain, weather conditions, heavy loads, and long operating times. This is precisely where the quality of lubrication determines failure rates, efficiency, and service life. Whether it's a mobile excavator, wheel loader, bulldozer, or crane – mechanical components must be permanently protected and operate with low friction.
Whether tractors, combine harvesters, field sprayers, or balers – modern agricultural machinery frequently operates during peak seasonal operations. They must function reliably, often for many hours in wind, weather, and heavy dirt. At the same time, they are often idle for weeks or months between uses. Lubrication is therefore a key issue for functional maintenance, corrosion protection, and cost-effectiveness.
In industrial vehicle technology, lubrication determines performance, longevity, and operating costs. Whether truck fleets, municipal vehicles, waste disposal companies, special transporters, or emergency vehicles – all of these machines are subjected to high mechanical stress every day. Inadequate lubrication can not only increase wear but also lead to costly breakdowns or even safety risks.
SKF and Lincoln provide information in the 2nd Lubrication Technology Newsletter Q2/25 about product innovations, product updates, product changes and other updates such as availability, spare parts and catalogs.