SKF South Africa lists Mondi as a key global account and, as a result, Mondi Packaging is of intrinsic importance in ensuring that the SKF value proposition is conveyed and fully implemented on its site in Piet Retief.
Recently, and with the assistance of the authorised SKF distributor, Bearing Services Bethal, a solution was provided which addressed premature bearing failure on one of the mill’s applications. According to SKF segment key account manager, Giscard Lailvaux, environmental contamination in the form of moisture ingress adversely affected the performance of the standard Y-bearing units utilised to support the application. “Moisture ingress into the Y-bearings in the pillow blocks caused corrosion of the bearing units and, in turn, destroyed the lubricant performance leading to premature bearing failures. Consequently unavoidable stoppages occurred in the mill’s production, thus burdening its maintenance staff with frequent bearing unit replacement tasks,” he explains.
“The original Y-bearings were manufactured from mild steel. The issue with mild steel in the application’s environment is its high corrosion rate, which in turn affects the lubricant’s performance and ultimately the performance of the unit. The result was that Mondi’s maintenance team had to remove the bearings and insert new ones every two weeks. Due to the frequent nature of the replacement, it became part of the mill’s routine maintenance tasks. A solution was therefore required to increase the performance of the application and thus increase the Mean Time between Bearing Replacements. The solution: replacement of the mild steel Y-bearings with SKF stainless steel.”
In September 2010, Mondi Packaging reported that the application had been operating smoothly and without maintenance stoppages or interruption from bearing failures for the past nine months. “Although the stainless steel Y-bearings are more expensive than mild steel, the stainless steel units delivered immediate and significant benefits in the form of increased operational uptime of the application,” says Lailvaux.
He concludes: “SKF is a knowledge engineering company and we use our combined skills and expertise, drawn from SKF’s core technologies – bearings and units, seals, power transmission, mechatronics, lubrication and services – to provide the best possible solution for all our customers. The SKF stainless steel Y-bearing solution is just another example of being able to leverage off a vast array of products for our valuable customers.”
Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.
Read more...A strategic milestone for Conical Technologies Conical Technologies
News
Conical Technologies has been appointed as the sole distributor in southern Africa for Mibbo, manufacturers of a vast array of products for the automation industry.
Read more...Robotics TechTalk at UKZN
News
The Scientific Multidisciplinary Advanced Research Technology Lab at the University of KwaZulu-Natal recently held an exciting TechTalk. It was an opportunity to introduce students to the IEEE Robotics and Automation chapter, SAIMC, and the Robotics Association of South Africa.
Read more...Schneider Electric honoured with Gender Leader Award Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric has been awarded the Gender Leader Award at this year’s Africa CEO Forum. This award acknowledges those organisations operating in Africa that have shown a significant and continuous commitment to gender diversity and inclusion.
Read more...Africa Automation Technology Fair 2025 closes on a high note
News
The Africa Automation Technology Fair 2025 officially wrapped up after three dynamic days at Gallagher Convention Centre, cementing its status as Africa’s leading platform for industrial automation, AI and IoT.
Read more...A new generation of solar professionals
News
A new generation of solar professionals is rising in Cape Town. The second cohort of the Solar Youth Project has just completed an intensive eight-week training course and is ready to take on the next stage, 10 months of work experience.
Read more...From the editor's desk: The age of superintelligence Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
In this issue of SA Instrumentation & Control we say farewell to our longstanding contributing editor, Michael Brown, who is retiring soon. His outstanding contribution over the years in the field of ...
Read more...It’s full steam ahead for SKF’s sustainable leak detection solution SKF South Africa
Pneumatics & Hydraulics
One of SKF’s key customers based in Cape Town, which depends on steam systems for its production processes, was facing costly challenges related to high energy consumption and excessive maintenance hours. SKF recommended the TKSU 10 ultrasonic leak detector as a more streamlined, user-friendly alternative.
Read more...Driving digital transformation in the new wave SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council
News
The latest presentation in the series ‘Knowledge Sharing 4 Industry’ will be held on Wednesday 25 June. It will be presented by Johan Potgieter, Cluster Industrial Software Leader for Schneider Electric, South Africa.
printer friendly version