Problems with roller bearings solved in concrete pipe production
Every two to three months, a British manufacturer of concrete pipes was faced with bearing failures at the blade carrier of a concrete saw which always resulted in eight-hour downtimes. As part of the so-called added-value program (AIP), engineers of NSK examined the operation and noticed that early failures were caused by concrete dust. The examination revealed that dust was able to pass the seals, thus ingressing into the bearing and contaminating the lubricant of the covered deep groove ball bearing.
NSK recommended to switch to Molded-Oil bearings with contact type seals (DDU). These bearings are lubricated with NSK‘s original oil-impregnated material, consisting of lubricating oil and polyolefin resin that has an affinity to oil. This material – that prevents the ingress of pollutants – provides for continuous supply of the lubricant for a long period of time. In comparison to grease-lubricated bearings, Molded-Oil bearings achieve more than twice the operating life in water- and dust-contaminated environments.
Savings of 38,400 Euros
The concrete saw was modified accordingly, and no bearing failure had occurred over the following twelve months. Hence, the operating life of the bearings has quadrupled at least. As a result, the user has saved 38,400 euros for service costs and downtimes in the first year.
This is not only achieved by the Molded-Oil technology but also by the highly efficient packing of the bearings with contact type seals (DDU). They also prevent contaminations from ingressing into the bearing and thus increasing the operating life of the bearing in unfavorable environmental conditions.
This application case is an example for the typical approach of the AIP program of NSK. Specialists experienced in both roller bearings and the respective industry and field of application examine the present application of the bearing and develop proposals for an optimization that is aiming at minimizing downtimes and increasing the operating life of the bearings.
