Logan Voss
Plastic gears are extremely important parts for various machines and devices nowadays. The gears are in a wide variety of products because they offer great quality at a low price. However, they’re just like any other moving piece and will breakdown over time from wear. That’s why maintenance is necessary to keep your plastic gears going for years.
Regular Inspections
The first part of good maintenance is to inspect your components and gears. The rate of inspections changes depending on the purpose of the gears and devices, but you should check them at least monthly. This will help you catch issues before they grow and become devastating to the whole device.
Cleaning Your Gears
One of the most common maintenance tasks for plastic gears is simple cleaning. This normally requires isopropyl alcohol to wash the gears and good ventilation to dry them quickly. Don’t use alcohol if you don’t have protection, as it can be harmful to people.
Lubricating the Gears
While washing the gears will help protect them from corrosion and debris, they still wear down during use. That’s why lubrication is important for these gears, as it helps reduce friction and protects the parts from wear. You’ll need to find the lubricant that best matches the gears’ working conditions so that they can best target the places of wear and last longer.
Identifying When To Replace Gears
One of the important parts of plastic gear maintenance is the identification of gears in need of replacement. While lubrication and cleaning can prevent lots of wear, gears can still break down. You should keep your eyes and ears out for the signs that you need to replace a plastic gear in your device.
Plastic gears are great tools for reducing the cost of mass-producing a device without compromising the device. That’s why these gears are so popular around the world and are great for making a wide variety of devices. As long as you maintain your gears, you’ll have a device that last years longer because of your care.
