Steel plant saves around €70,000 with spherical roller bearings from NSK20 July 2021

For the past four years a hot rolling mill at a steel plant in Spain had been experiencing unexpectedly short bearing life, leading to costly production stoppages. As a result, the plant worked closely with the technical department at bearing specialist NSK to assess the application and propose and implement a solution based on high-performance spherical roller bearings.

By adopting the recommendations set forward by NSK, the steel plant is now saving €69,803 per annum in reduced costs for downtime, maintenance, bearings and lubrication.

When performing a technical root cause failure analysis, NSK’s expert team closely analysed the working conditions, as well as the lubrication regime to optimise running conditions and prolong life. Furthermore, in support of the maintenance department’s request for process improvement, NSK undertook a review of the bearing fitting process and tolerances.

Working in partnership with the steel plant, the information from the analyses and reviews indicated that the high running temperature of the bearing was caused by a combination of incorrect fitment and lubrication failure due to higher productivity (running speed) at the plant.

Among the recommendations was the implementation of NSKHPS (High Performance Standard) spherical roller bearings with higher radial internal clearance to better suit the application conditions. Spherical roller bearings from NSK can withstand arduous operating conditions. These bearings resist seizure and wear in spite of constant vibration, misalignment and shock loads.

As a result of the new measures, bearing consumption at the steel plant has reduced to one fifth of the previous level, with subsequent benefits in less production downtime and maintenance.

NSKHPS spherical roller bearings not only offer temperature stability up to 200°C, but a dynamic load rating some 25% higher than the industry standard. The upshot is a bearing that provides twice the operating life of conventional alternatives.

The steel plant was so pleased with NSK’s recommendations and their subsequent benefits that it placed a new order for NSKHPS spherical roller bearings when the market started to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2021.

Operations Engineer

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NSK Bearings Europe Ltd

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