A bearing’s rated speed is given based on being lubricated with oil or grease and based on moderate temperatures and light loads. As temperature goes up and/or load is increased, the life of the bearing will be shortened. CSL cannot change that. However, when using CSL in place of oil or grease the maximum speed capability will be decreased, although it may still be acceptable for your application. The reason is that the CSL forms a barrier layer of graphite to prevent metal to metal contact between the rolling elements and races of the bearing. In addition to preventing metal to metal contact, the CSL (remember graphite is an excellent lubricant) allows the bearing to have very little drag and to spin freely. Since CSL has such a wide range of useful temperature capabilities, the bearing will spin free from extremely cold temperatures to very high temperatures.
To achieve higher speed capability than for bearings processed with standard CSL, UTA has invented two additional products. The first is called CSL-EP (enhanced performance). CSL-EP is a unique non-petroleum liquid that is impregnated into CSL. The result is a quiet smooth rotation that improves speed capabilities. The bearing steel will also have a micro thin coating of CSL-EP and may feel “wet” or tacky. We carefully selected this non-petroleum product because of its excellent lubricating properties, its tendency to not drip, and because it doesn’t burn like oil or grease so it never leaves a burned carbon deposit on the races.
The second new product is called CSL-EPN (enhanced performance w/ Nano). UTA utilizes the superior characteristics of “next generation” nano-materials. These nano-sized particles are unique in shape, hardness, and functionality. They are spherical with “onion peal” type outer layers. One square centimeter of these particles can support 300 tons! The race surfaces of precision bearings, if observed under very powerful microscopes, have peaks and valleys. These imperfections are quite normal, even on the most highly polished races. These imperfections are just too small to feel or see with the naked eye. However, to the nano-materials used in our Nano Series of lubricants, these look like mountains and valleys!
The nano particles are attracted to these peak & valleys and tend to deposit or “nest” in and around them. The nested particles fill the cracks and valleys while the “onion peal” outer skin of the nano particles smooth the surface of peaks. Keep in mind that these particles are spherical and act as billions of tiny ball bearings reducing the coefficient of friction of the races and rolling elements of the bearing. In addition, since these nano particles are extremely hard, and they nest on all the metal surfaces (races and rolling elements), they drastically reduce ware. This makes a huge difference in the ware of the bearing as well as the speed capability. The utilization of these nano-materials in combination with CSL makes an exceptional lubricant which may dramatically increase service life in extreme conditions.