Success Story
Industry: Food & Beverage
Application: Food Production Conveyor
Cost Savings: € 69 826
Introduction
The customer was experiencing failures every 4 – 6 weeks with ball bearing inserts on a food production conveyor line. Regular high pressure wash-downs led to corrosion, seal damage and grease wash-out from the bearings, resulting in regular maintenance and production downtime. NSK reviewed the bearing application and were able to recommend NSK Life-Lube® as a solution. Trial bearings were purchased and applied. This resulted in significant improvements in bearing life with no failures during the trial period. This solution increased reliability and reduced unplanned downtime resulting in a large cost saving.
- Conveyor belt
- Molded-Oil Bearings
Key Facts
- Food production conveyor
- Corrosion, seal damage and grease wash-out from the bearings due to high pressure wash-downs
- NSK Solution: Stainless steel Molded-Oil bearing inserts
- 12 month trial on 10 bearings
- Highly increased life-time: No failures even after 12 months of operation
- Cost reduction for bearings, lubrication and maintenance
- Productivity improvement
Value Proposals
- NSK reviewed the bearing application and discovered that bearing corrosion and grease wash out were the main issues
- A trial was proposed using Stainless steel Molded-Oil bearing inserts
- After 12 months the bearings were still performing well with no failures
- From this trial the solution was applied to other similar applications generating significant cost savings
- This success was then transferred to further production sites of this customer
Product Features
- PBT thermoplastic resin housing
- Molded-Oil inserts (with solid lubricant)
- Martensitic stainless steel
- Nitrile rubber seals
- Available in Pillow Block, 2 and 4 bolt flanges and take-up unit housings
- Bore size 20mm - 40mm
- Corrosion resistance
- Paint free housings, preventing chipping & flaking
- Resistant to contamination increasing operating life
- Ideal for operations where process fluid is unavoidable
- No need for re-lubrication
Cost Saving Breakdown
| Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearing Costs: Regular bearing failures every 4-5 weeks on two key process lines. Annual bearing costs: €922 per line × 2 |
€1.844 | Bearing Costs: No bearing failures in 12 months, resulting in inventory reduction. €533 per line × 2 |
€1.066 | |
| Engineering Costs: Maintenance costs per line, including re-lubrication, labour, overheads: €1.644 per line × 2 |
€3.288 | Engineering Costs: No re-lubrication needed, reduced labour costs |
€0 | |
| Costs of lost production: Lost production downtime (12×/year). €32.880 per line × 2 |
€65.760 | Costs of lost production: No production lost to unplanned downtime |
€0 | |
| Total Costs | € 70 892 | € 1 066 | ||
Reference:SS-E-2003
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