# Textile Machinery Lubrication

> Centralised oil lubrication for textile machinery in India: resist-type and volumetric distributors metering oil to spindles, rollers and gear ends.

Source: https://herglube.in/applications/textile-machinery-lubrication/  
Herg Lubrication India: centralised lubrication systems for industrial and automotive machinery, supplied across India.  
Enquiries: https://herglube.in/contact/

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A spinning frame carries the same bearing a few hundred times over, all running at speed, all needing a small and repeatable amount of oil. We supply the centralised oil systems that feed them: resist-type and volumetric distributors metering oil to spindles, drafting rollers and gear ends, factory-fit to textile machinery builders in India and as retrofit kits for mills.

![A knitting machine with rows of needles and threads feeding in](https://herglube.in/images/application-textile-machinery.webp)

*The lubrication points*

## What a textile lubrication system feeds

Oil rather than grease, in small doses, to a lot of points that are all much the same. The problem here is not load, as it is on plant or a chassis: it is repeatability across a long line of identical bearings, and keeping the oil off the yarn.

*Diagram: A textile machine frame in side view, carrying a gear end drive at one end, a pair of drafting rollers, and a row of spindles. A pump and distributor under the frame feed a single line that branches up to three numbered points: the gear end, the drafting roller bearings, and the spindle bearings.*

*One pump and one distributor feeding a line of near-identical points. The dose per outlet, not the pressure, is what has to be right.*

*Point 1*

### Spindle bearings

The bearing each spindle turns in, repeated the length of the frame. Individually they need very little oil; collectively they are the reason a machine has a centralised system at all, because a few hundred points on a hand oiling round is how points get missed.

*Point 2*

### Drafting roller bearings

The journals of the roller pairs that draw the sliver down to its final count. They run slower than the spindles but under nip pressure, and they sit directly above the product, so the dose here has to be metered rather than fed continuously.

*Point 3*

### Gear end & cam boxes

The drive end of the machine: change gears, cams and the shafts that time the whole frame. Fewer points than the spindle row, but heavier duty, and usually the only place on the machine where a noticeably larger dose is wanted.

*Not this system*

### The yarn, and sealed assemblies

An oil-stained yarn is scrap, so the point of metering here is as much about not delivering too much as too little. Motor bearings sealed at assembly and any component running in its own oil bath are outside this system and should stay that way.

*The architecture*

## Resist type or volumetric, by what the point needs

Both architectures are used on textile machinery, and they answer different questions. A [resist-type distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/tcj-and-tcz-resist-type-distributor/) meters by flow resistance: it has a built-in filter screen and a single-side valve, controls flow through a damping orifice, and delivers oil to each point *in proportion*, working from 1.5 to 20 kgf/cm². It is simple and cheap per point, which is what a long row of identical, undemanding bearings wants. A [volumetric distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/rh3-type-volumetiric-distributor/) instead injects a fixed *dose* as line pressure rises and refills as it drops: 0.03 to 0.4 mL per outlet on the RH3, two to five outlets per block with more connectable. Where a point needs a known quantity rather than a share of the flow, that is the one to specify. See [how the architectures meter a dose](https://herglube.in/how-it-works/#metering) and [choosing the right distributor](https://herglube.in/distributor-selection/).

The choice constrains the pump, and this is the part that is easiest to get wrong. A volumetric distributor only actuates once the line reaches its guarantee pressure: 12 to 15 kgf/cm² on the RH3, 8 to 12 kgf/cm² on the [34 type](https://herglube.in/shop/34-type-volumetric-distributor-for-oil/). A [TZ](https://herglube.in/shop/tz-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) or [HL](https://herglube.in/shop/hl-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) gear pump is rated at 15 kgf/cm² and reaches 25, so either will drive one. The low-pressure pumps will not: the [BM cycloidal pump](https://herglube.in/shop/bm-type-cycloidal-pump/) tops out at 5.0 kgf/cm² and the [TM intermittent pump](https://herglube.in/shop/tm-type-automatic-intermittent-lubrication-pump/) at 0.3 MPa, which is about 3 kgf/cm². Both sit comfortably inside the resist-type window and neither will actuate a volumetric block. Pick the architecture first, then the pump that can drive it.

**Textile machinery lubrication points and matching Herg components**

| Point | Metering | Pressure needed | Herg components |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Spindle bearings, long rows | Resist type, proportioned | 1.5 to 20 kgf/cm² | [TCJ / TCZ distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/tcj-and-tcz-resist-type-distributor/) + [BM](https://herglube.in/shop/bm-type-cycloidal-pump/) or [TM pump](https://herglube.in/shop/tm-type-automatic-intermittent-lubrication-pump/) |
| Spindle bearings, dosed | Volumetric, 0.03 to 0.4 mL | 12 to 15 kgf/cm² | [RH3 distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/rh3-type-volumetiric-distributor/) + [TZ pump](https://herglube.in/shop/tz-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) |
| Drafting roller bearings | Volumetric, 0.03 to 0.16 mL | 8 to 12 kgf/cm² | [34 type distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/34-type-volumetric-distributor-for-oil/) + [HL pump](https://herglube.in/shop/hl-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) |
| Gear end & cam boxes | Single-line metering, fixed dose | 12 to 15 kgf/cm² | [DK distributor](https://herglube.in/shop/dk-type-single-line-metering-distributor/), 0.05 to 0.5 mL/cycle |
| Small machines, hand-pumped | Resist type or volumetric | By distributor | [NKHY manual oil pump](https://herglube.in/shop/nkhy-manual-oil-pump/) |
| Line branching | N/A | N/A | [TH joint fitting](https://herglube.in/shop/th-type-joint-fitting/), [nylon tube](https://herglube.in/shop/nylon-lubrication-tube/) |
| Monitoring | N/A | N/A | [Level indicator](https://herglube.in/shop/oil-level-indicator/), [pressure switch](https://herglube.in/shop/pressure-switches/), [filter](https://herglube.in/shop/filiter/) |

*The oil*

## Viscosity is set by the distributor, not the pump

The pumps are tolerant: the [TZ](https://herglube.in/shop/tz-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) and [HL](https://herglube.in/shop/hl-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) both take oil from 30 to 1000 cSt. The distributors are not, and they are what decides the specification. A [TCJ or TCZ resist-type](https://herglube.in/shop/tcj-and-tcz-resist-type-distributor/) block wants 20 to 50 cSt, because it meters through a damping orifice and a thicker oil changes the proportion it delivers. The [RH3](https://herglube.in/shop/rh3-type-volumetiric-distributor/) and the [34 type](https://herglube.in/shop/34-type-volumetric-distributor-for-oil/) are wider at 20 to 500 cSt. So on a resist-type system the oil is chosen inside a narrow band that the pump would otherwise have let you ignore. See [choosing the right lubricant](https://herglube.in/lubricant-selection/).

Control follows the mill rather than the machine. The [TZ pump](https://herglube.in/shop/tz-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) is available in 24 V DC, 110 V AC, 220 V AC and 415 V three-phase, with a built-in microcomputer for setting the action and intermittent period, so it can be cycled from the machine or left to run itself. The [TM intermittent pump](https://herglube.in/shop/tm-type-automatic-intermittent-lubrication-pump/) takes the opposite approach: a synchronous timer motor sets the interval mechanically at 2.4, 6, 12, 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes, so it needs no external timer or controller at all. On a floor of many identical machines with no PLC to speak of, that is often the easier specification to repeat and to maintain. The [HL pump](https://herglube.in/shop/hl-type-oil-lubrication-pump/) comes with a level switch fitted and takes a pressure switch, which together give intermittent running plus an alarm.

*Who we supply*

## Factory-fit for builders, retrofit for mills

*Textile machinery builders*

### OEM production supply

We supply lubrication systems against OEM production schedules, engineered to the frame and its point count, with consistent specification and batch documentation for every unit. If you build spinning, weaving, knitting or processing machinery, start with the [pump range](https://herglube.in/product/lubrication-pumps/) and the [distributor range](https://herglube.in/product/distributors/) and we will match them to the machine.

[Discuss an OEM programme →](https://herglube.in/contact/)

*Mills & maintenance teams*

### Retrofit & replacement

A frame still on a hand oiling round can be fitted with a pump, a distributor set and tubing run to the existing points, without rebuilding the machine. We also supply drop-in replacement pumps and distributors for systems already installed, with [fault finding guidance](https://herglube.in/troubleshooting/) online.

[Ask about a retrofit →](https://herglube.in/contact/)

*Common questions*

## Textile machinery lubrication, answered

### Resist type or volumetric for textile machinery?

Resist type where a long row of similar bearings each needs a proportioned share of the oil, and it is the cheaper option per point. Volumetric where a point needs a known dose regardless of pipe run, which the RH3 delivers at 0.03 to 0.4 mL per outlet.

### Which pump drives a volumetric distributor?

One that reaches the distributor's guarantee pressure. The RH3 needs 12 to 15 kgf/cm² and the 34 type 8 to 12, so a TZ or HL pump at 15 kgf/cm² rated will drive either. The BM at 5.0 kgf/cm² and the TM at 0.3 MPa will not, and are for resist-type systems.

### Which oil viscosity does the system need?

The distributor decides. A TCJ or TCZ resist-type block wants 20 to 50 cSt; the RH3 and 34 type take 20 to 500 cSt. The TZ and HL pumps themselves accept 30 to 1000 cSt, so the pump is rarely the constraint.

### Can the system run without a PLC or controller?

Yes. The TM intermittent pump sets its interval with a synchronous timer motor built into the pump head, fixed at 2.4, 6, 12, 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes on a 50 Hz supply, so no external timer is needed. The TZ pump has its own microcomputer for the same job if the interval needs changing.

### Will the oil reach the yarn?

Not if the dose is right, which is the argument for a metered system over hand oiling or a continuous drip. Volumetric and single-line metering blocks deliver a fixed quantity per cycle, so the amount arriving at a point above the product is a number you set rather than a matter of how long someone held the oil can.

### How many points can one distributor feed?

The RH3 and 34 type come in two, three, four or five outlets, and further outlets can be connected, so a long frame is covered by building up blocks and branching with a [TH joint fitting](https://herglube.in/shop/th-type-joint-fitting/) of two to ten outlets rather than by one oversized block.

### Is there a manual option for a small machine?

Yes. The NKHY pull-type oil pump feeds a resist-type system directly, and with its pressure take-off mechanism it also suits a volumetric one. Its own description names textile machines among its applications, alongside machine tools, woodworking, plastics and packing.

### Do you supply textile machinery builders in India?

Yes. We supply machinery builders and mills across India, engineering the pump and distributor package to the frame and its point count. [Send us an enquiry](https://herglube.in/contact/) with the machine and the points you need fed.

## Building or running textile machinery?

Tell us the machine, the number of points and the oil you run, and we will come back with the pump and distributor package that fits, for one retrofit or a production line.

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Send an enquiry](https://herglube.in/contact/)