NSK bearings are said to have reduced concrete floor manufacturing machine failures for an unnamed customer from 20 a year to zero, providing savings of €68,607.
Regular bearing failures in a concrete floor manufacturing machine were leading to extensive downtime, costly lost production, and high maintenance costs. To rectify the problem, the customer turned to the expertise of NSK, which redesigned the wheel hub and stub axle assembly with correctly specified bearings.
Repeat failures of the concrete floor manufacturing machine were a concern to the customer’s management team. An investigation of the machine and its failed bearings by NSK’s expert team of engineers found that the main problem was with the cassettes, due to poor wheel design and the ingress of contamination as a result of incorrect bearing specification. Arduous operating conditions are normal for this high-value construction process.
NSK proposed a complete redesign of the wheel hub and stub axle assembly, including a sealed roller bearing unit selected specifically for the machine’s loads. By incorporating NSK’s full-complement sealed bearing units, secured by circlips in the outer ring, it was possible to increase the load rating. Furthermore, integral seals provided greater protection for the bearings.
The customer followed the proposals and produced a new shaft and housing to accept the redesigned NSK hub assembly.
NSK’s cylindrical roller bearings offer improved contact seals to prevent the ingress of foreign particles and water, a high load rating (radial and axial) and a corrosion resistant phosphate coating to ensure suitability for external environments. The bearings are pre-lubricated with lithium grease and offer easy replenishment via inner and outer ring re-lubrication holes. If required, a snap ring (DIN 471) can be applied to the outer ring.