Success Story
Industry: Steel & Metals
Application: Wire Forming Production
Cost Savings: € 1 202 455
Introduction
A customer was experiencing repeated failures on bearings fitted to roller assemblies on his wire drawing machinery. This resulted in excessive downtime and high maintenance costs. This was a serious concern to the management and a solution was needed urgently. NSK was called in to investigate and found that there was a lubrication and sealing problem. A new bearing and lubrication package was tested. Results showed that this solution significantly improved the bearing performance resulting in large improvements in productivity and a reduced maintenance cost.
- Wire Drawing Machine
- Full compliment Cylindrical Roller Bearing unit with seals
Key Facts
- Continuous wire drawing process with high loads and arduous conditions
- High failure rates of bearings up to 75 stoppages a month
- Excessive downtime and high maintenance costs
- Bearing Failure Analysis which showed a lubrication problem
- NSK proposed Lithium Complex grease together with a sealed Cylindrical Roller Bearing unit which was tested in the machine resulting in improved productivity and reduced maintenance costs
- A significant cost saving could be realised
Value Proposals
- A Bearing Failure Analysis showed that the primary cause was poor lubrication performance
- A Lubrication Analysis identified the existing grease as graphite based which was not suitable
- NSK proposed a trial using a specially selected Lithium Complex grease together with a Sealed Double Row Cylindrical
- Roller Bearing Unit
- The trial was successful with a 40% improvement in bearing life
- The customer converted all of their roll assemblies over to the NSK proposed bearing / grease combination
- There was a significant reduction in downtime and maintenance costs and this was documented in a substantial cost saving
Product Features
- Improved contact seals prevent ingress of foreign particles or water
- High load rating
- Increased radial and axial capability
- Highly corrosion resistant phosphate coating
- Easier grease re-lubrication: Inner and outer ring re-lubrication holes
- Bearings pre-greased with Lithium grease
- Can be fitted with DIN 471 snap rings to the outer ring
- Can be used in external environments due to coating
Cost Saving Breakdown
| Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearing Costs: Constant failure of bearings / 75 Rolls changed per month | Bearing Costs: Significant improved reliability / 45 Rolls changed per month | |||
| Costs of lost production: 0.5 hours per change / €6.000 per hour lost production cost / €225.000 per month x 12 months |
€ 2.700.000 | Costs of lost production: 0.5 hours per change / €6.000 per hour lost production cost / €135.000 per month x 12 months | € 1.620.000 | |
| Engineering Costs: 378 man hours / €13.986 cost per month / €13.986 x 12 months | € 167.832 | Engineering Costs: 108 man hours / €3.996 cost per month / €3.996 x 12 months | € 47.952 | |
| Training Costs: Technical Support & Engineering Time | € 2.575 | Training Costs: No Technical Support needed | € 0 | |
| Total Costs | € 2 870 407 | € 1 667 952 | ||
Reference:SS-E-2018
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