Motion Control & Drives


More power from smaller motors

July 2023 Motion Control & Drives

A new high-performance, two-piece polymer cage pushes SKF’s Hybrid deep groove ball bearing into new limits, and gives more flexibility in the design choices. By allowing higher rotational speeds, it operates more quietly and efficiently than bearings with common cages. Furthermore, it enables higher power density, leading to more power output from the same size electric motor.

SKF has developed a new hybrid deep groove ball bearing for high-speed applications. The new bearing is aimed at applications such as rail industry traction motors, and electric machines and drives. SKF already has three pilot customers, all of them OEMs.

A new lightweight cage helps to boost the limiting speed by at least 60% compared to traditional designs. Additionally, the polymeric cage helps to reduce friction, leading to quieter operation and allowing higher power density in the application. “Our new cage design helps our customers to get more power from electric motors, which enables downsizing,” says Andreas Pichler, business and project engineer at SKF.

By improving the efficiency of electric machines and drives, the new bearing can cut energy consumption, increase reliability and reduce the total cost of ownership. Its two-piece cage is made from PEEK and PA66, making it 80% lighter than a brass cage. As well as running more quietly, the bearing operates at a lower temperature, which prolongs grease life and extends relubrication intervals. This can give engineers more flexibility in their design choices.

In addition, its limiting speed is twice that of a single-piece polyamide cage, and 60% higher than a brass one.

Rigidly connected cage bars ensure robustness, which helps to lengthen service life in harsh conditions. The optimised geometry also eliminates radial deformation from high centrifugal forces, the ‘umbrella effect’, that typically occurs on snap-type cages running at high speed. The new bearing is targeted at OEMs in rail, off-highway vehicles, E-mobility, and industrial/electrical applications.


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Smarter motor technology for high-performance industrial automation
Adroit Technologies Motion Control & Drives
Adroit Technologies is bringing Mitsubishi Electric’s EM-A series permanent magnet motors to Africa, offering servo-like speed and position control at a lower cost by combining patented sensorless control with the FR-E800 inverter to eliminate encoders while achieving IE5 efficiency.

Read more...
A smarter approach to simplifying motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
n motion system design, the wiring and drive placement between motor and drive are often decided by default, yet they shape a machine’s cost, footprint and adaptability. Kollmorgen sets out how single-cable and decentralised architectures simplify the cabinet.

Read more...
Robotic case packer achieves 99% uptime
Rockwell Automation Motion Control & Drives
DCC Automation designed a new robotic case packer for a nutrition supplement manufacturer using delta robots and a unified Rockwell Automation control platform, cutting changeover time from 45 minutes to 5 minutes, and achieving 99 to 99,5% uptime against the previous 10% per-shift downtime.

Read more...
igus puts 3D-printed wear materials to the test
igus Motion Control & Drives
A new igus white paper compares its tribological iglidur 3D-printing materials directly with conventional POM, reporting lower wear, more stable friction and up to ten times longer service life in gear testing for customised, low-volume and replacement components.

Read more...
SEW-EURODRIVE’s expanded local engineering capability
SEW-EURODRIVE Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
At Electra Mining Africa, SEW-EURODRIVE demonstrated how its expanded local engineering capability, digital technologies and lifecycle support strategy help customers improve reliability, energy efficiency and total cost of ownership across the full life of their drive assets.

Read more...
Latest Danfoss automation drive
Bearing Man Group t/a BMG Motion Control & Drives
BMG has launched the Danfoss iC7-Automation enclosed variable speed drive range in South Africa, backed by significant local stockholding of 400 V models up to 710 kW, approved warranty workshops, and DrivePro digital asset management support.

Read more...
Severe-duty workhorses powering mining
Motion Control & Drives
Mining machines such as rock crushers, pumps and conveyors need motors that combine high torque with robust enclosures, seals and cooling. WEG Africa explains how severe-duty motors deliver more than a decade of reliable performance in harsh conditions while meeting modern energy-efficiency standards.

Read more...
SKF extends remanufacturing expertise to bearing clearance modification
SKF South Africa Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
Using its clearance modification expertise, SKF helped a mining equipment OEM salvage spherical roller bearing inventory that would otherwise have been scrapped, confirming a new capability within its remanufacturing services and avoiding redundant procurement.

Read more...
Looking beyond the spec sheet when choosing motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
When machine builders focus only on torque, speed and price, engineering time, integration effort and long-term maintainability get overlooked. Kollmorgen explains how thinking at the system level, not the component level, leads to better motion architecture choices.

Read more...
Economy drive system closes the drive gap in the entry-level segment
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
Beckhoff has launched an economy drive system pairing its new AX1000 servo drive and AM1000 servomotor with the AF1000 dual-axis variable frequency drive on a shared EtherCAT platform, targeting series machines and price-sensitive markets without sacrificing TwinCAT integration or functional safety.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved