Bearings deliver major savings at snack food plant
June 2024
Motion Control & Drives
Production uptime is vital in process industries such as food and beverage. Many companies in this sector operate a business model based on high volume throughput and narrow profit margins in order to remain competitive in a fierce marketplace. Any line stoppages can therefore have a highly detrimental effect on the bottom line.
A case in point is a producer of snack foods that began experiencing frequent bearing failures on its process-critical cutter lines. To resolve the situation as quickly as possible, the plant turned to the expertise of NSK. As part of NSK’s Added Value Programme, AIP, a process map survey was conducted on site. This involved an investigation into the failed bearings by NSK’s experienced engineering team. This identified the problem as grease expulsion to line washdown procedures. The issue was prompting bearing replacement every six weeks during routine planned maintenance to help prevent unplanned stoppages. However, failures sometimes occurred before scheduled maintenance, resulting in the loss of valuable production time, the cost of which ran into six figures a year.
NSK proposed replacing the incumbent bearings with the company’s Life-Lube housed bearing units. The Life-Lube series combines the corrosion-resistant properties of NSK’s Silver-Lube thermoplastic (paint-free) housings with the excellent sealing and lubricating properties of the company’s Molded-Oil inserts, which feature solid lubricant. This proprietary material consists of lubricant and a polyolefin resin with an affinity for oil. Grease is released steadily and continuously over a long period. The operating environment stays clean, as there is no need for replenishment and no lubricant can escape.
Life-Lube units are specifically for use in applications where contact with water and process fluids is unavoidable, and where long lubricant life is necessary. NSK therefore identified Life-Lube as the optimal solution for the snack food plant and its detergent-based washdown procedures. NSK proposed a trial of Life-Lube housed bearing units on one of three cutter lines at the plant, the monitoring of which would determine suitability. After one year, the bearings were still performing well with no failures, eliminating production downtime entirely. In addition to substantially lower costs for parts and maintenance labour, the plant is seeing impressive annual savings of €134 478.
For more information contact Geraldene Govender South Africa, NSK, +27 11 458 3600, [email protected], www.nsk.com
Further reading:
Grease that can take the load
SKF South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
SKF’s new general purpose, high load bearing lithium-free grease caters to the lubrication requirements of a wide range of industries and applications.
Read more...
Safe operation of hydraulic systems
Motion Control & Drives
Hydraulic check valves are one of the most common valve types, and are essential components in hydraulic systems. There is potential for optimisation, particularly in applications in which screwable check valves are used in aluminium blocks.
Read more...
How to raise the bar in port operation efficiency and productivity
Motion Control & Drives
In the ever-evolving world of maritime logistics, optimising the efficiency and productivity of port operations is essential for staying competitive. The solution to meeting these requirements lies in harnessing the potential of innovative and advanced technologies from reputable global manufacturers.
Read more...
First Tornado vertical lift module in SA
Motion Control & Drives
The first South African Gonvarri Tornado 9th-generation vertical lifting module was designed and installed for ACDC Dynamics, a market leader in the supply of electrical components for automation, commercial, industrial and mining sectors. It was designed to improve the efficiency of ACDC’s warehouse. It is an ultra-fast, virtually noiseless computer-controlled storage and transfer lift.
Read more...
Mammoet assembles world’s biggest land-based crane
Motion Control & Drives
Mammoet, the global leader in engineered heavy lifting and transport, has started assembling the world’s strongest land-based crane.
Read more...
Tapered roller bearings keep mining dump trucks rolling
SKF South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
SKF designs, develops and manufactures a range of premium quality products to meet the demands of the mining sector, which is notorious for punishing conditions that test machines, equipment, and components to their very limit.
Read more...
First battery-electric trolley truck system for underground mining
ABB South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
Boliden, Epiroc and ABB have passed a new technology milestone by successfully deploying the first fully battery-electric trolley truck system on an 800-metre underground mine test track in Sweden. This means the mining industry is a step closer to realising the all-electric mine of the future, with sustainable, productive operations, and improved working conditions.
Read more...
New lubrication-free rod ends
igus
Motion Control & Drives
The constant need for relubrication of metallic bearing points on rod ends in industrial applications is a time-consuming and expensive exercise and poses a real contamination risk. As a result, igus has developed maintenance-free polymer-hybrid spherical bearings which are a safer and more cost-effective alternative.
Read more...
Prime gearbox solutions for pump applications
Bearings International
Motion Control & Drives
I-MAK is a premium global brand in the stable of bearings and power transmission specialist, Bearings International. With more than a million references and hundreds of different product lines, the company’s unique power transmission solutions cater to a large range of applications in virtually all industrial segments.
Read more...
Millions of tons of grease and oil in our waterways
igus
Motion Control & Drives
Shocking statistics reveal that approximately 50% of lubricants used on industrial machines and equipment eventually makes their way into the environment, where just one litre of used oil has the capacity to poison about a million litres of water.
Read more...
printer friendly version