Success Story
Industry: Food & Beverage
Application: Belt Tensioner
Cost Savings: € 15 360
Introduction
A producer of frozen pizza was facing regular bearing failures with a belt tensioner on a food conveyor belt. The cleaning process of the production line with water was causing corrosion, grease washout and seal damage. The production line had to be stopped every 4 weeks in order to change the bearings. NSK reviewed the application and investigated the problem. NSK recommended to replace the exisiting bearings by Molded-Oil bearings. This resulted in a significiant lifetime extension and cost saving.
- Production line of frozen pizza
- Molded-Oil bearings
Key Facts
- Frequent bearing failures occuring every 4 weeks
- Water ingress from frequent wash down resulting in lubricant degradation, seal damage and corrosion of the rolling elements and raceways
- NSK Solution: Stainless Steel Bearings with Molded-Oil lubrication
- Significiant life time increase
Value Proposals
- NSK Application Review determined the bearing failure was due to degradation of the lubricant and ingress of water
- NSK recommended the use of Stainless Steel Bearings with Molded-Oil lubrication
- Molded-Oil bearings use an oil impregnated polymer as the lubricant instead of grease
- The polymer matrix slowly releases oil to lubricate the bearing, while at the same acting as a barrier to protect the bearing from contamination. The lubricant cannot be washed out as with standard greases and therefore the life of bearings in wet environments can be increased significantly
- A trial resulted in a substantial increase in bearing life and a reduction of the machine down time
Product Features
- Molded-Oil provides continuous supply of lubricant
- Grease-free property with no oil refilling keeps operating environments clear
- Operating life more than twice as long as grease lubrication, in water or dust contaminated environments
- Contact-seal type available in standard inventory for ball bearings
- Achieves extended maintenance-free performance through constant supply of lubricant; availble for high speed applications
- Available in ball bearings, spherical and tapered rolling bearings
- Stainless steel for corrosive environments
Cost Saving Breakdown
| Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearing Costs: Bearing replacement every 4 weeks | € 2.160 | Bearing Costs: Bearing cost | € 1.800 | |
| Lubrication Costs: Relubrication of bearings | € 600 | Lubrication Costs: No relubrication | € 0 | |
| Engineering Costs: Maintenance costs | € 14.400 | Engineering Costs: No maintenance costs | € 0 | |
| Total Costs | € 17 160 | € 1 800 | ||
Reference:SS-E-5006
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