Bearings deliver major savings at snack food plant
November 2023
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.
Further reading:
Solving common automation challenges with Festo’s servo drive and servo motor solutions
Festo South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
Automation projects face challenges that include limited installation space, the need for precise and repeatable linear motion, rising cycle-speed demands, and seamless integration with existing control architectures. Festo’s servo portfolio directly addresses these issues with compact, modular drive and motor solutions designed for specific applications.
Read more...
Inside the Giant Magellan Telescope with mechanical engineering at astronomical scale
Motion Control & Drives
Construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope, set to become the world’s largest Gregorian optical infrared telescope, is well underway. While its scientific mission is to transform astronomy, its performance depends heavily on advanced mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic engineering.
Read more...
Filtration as a reliability driver in motion control systems
Parker Hannifin - Sales Company South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
This article highlights the importance of filtration in motion control systems, how contamination affects performance, and what fleet managers, operators and maintenance teams in southern Africa can do to reduce downtime, avoidable wear and costly repairs, aided by Baldwin Filters.
Read more...
Supporting construction of next-gen floating offshore wind turbines
Motion Control & Drives
While windy locations naturally make ideal spots for offshore wind farms, they bring challenges when it comes to assembling wind turbines, particularly in ports. Mammoet was approached by Euroports to support with the marshalling and assembly of the components that make up the three turbines at Port-la-Nouvelle in France.
Read more...
Rollers excel where profits balance on a knife edge
igus
Motion Control & Drives
Polymer component specialist manufacturer, igus has developed a range of lubrication-free long-life knife edge rollers designed to improve the transfer of products between conveyor belts in high-speed production environments.
Read more...
Bringing physical AI to the factory floor by deploying humanoids in industrial operations
Siemens South Africa
Motion Control & Drives
Siemens and Humanoid have marked a landmark milestone in the journey to bring physical AI from vision to industrial reality. Humanoid’s humanoid robothas been successfully tested in operations at Siemens’ electronics factory in Germany, performing autonomous logistics tasks.
Read more...
Next-generation oil-free motor systems with active magnetic bearings
WEG Africa
Motion Control & Drives
WEG and SpinDrive are collaborating to integrate SpinDrive’s AMBs and built-in IoT condition monitoring into WEG’s market-leading electric motor offering, creating an oil-free, maintenance-free drive solution.
Read more...
Rising demand for advanced coolant technology
Motion Control & Drives
As modern engines become smaller, more powerful and increasingly complex, coolant technology has undergone a fundamental transformation.
Read more...
Addressing cost, supply and disease pressures in Africa’s feed industry
Motion Control & Drives
Feed producers across Africa are operating in an increasingly complex and volatile environment. The pressures are forcing producers to rethink how they operate, balancing cost control, production efficiency and the need for greater flexibility in an unpredictable market.
Read more...
Rapid headframe replacement for Canada’s biggest potash mine
Motion Control & Drives
Mammoet has supported Ledcor with the construction of BHP’s new Jansen potash mine.
Read more...
printer friendly version