Resources
Case Studies
Getting Results with NSK
Air Recirculation Fan A customer was experiencing bearing failure on an Air Recirculation Fan application within an ore preparation plant. This had been a regular problem. Compressed air cooling was applied to try and reduce the bearings’ high running temperature. |
Cold Form Saw for Steel Tube A global steel manufacturer was having problems with a cold form saw used to cut steel tube. The saw utilized a ball screw moving axially and was supported by a simple thrust ball bearing. This support bearing was failing every 6 weeks. |
Cold Rolling Mill – Steel Strip A major steel producer was dissatisfied with the performance of their Four-Row Tapered Roller Bearings installed in their cold rolling mill. Steel shavings from the production process were entering the bearings resulting in a detrimental effect on bearing reliability. |
Continuous Casting Machine A steel maker was experiencing problems with their continuous casting machine. The life of a roll segment Cylindrical Roller Bearing was only one to two months. The casting machine had a very complicated cooling and lubricating piping system. |
Dust Extraction Fan A steel manufacturer was experiencing frequent failures within its Ore Preparation Plant (OPP). The plant utilized housed bearing units installed on a 60 mm shaft running at approximately 1485 rpm. |
Hot Strip Mill A large steel manufacturer wanted to increase replacement intervals of Four-Row Tapered Roller Bearings used in the hot strip mill. Due to severe operating conditions, standard bearings provided only 1,400 hours of operation. |
Pipe Forming Roll A large steel manufacturer wanted to achieve longer replacement intervals for the bearing solutions used in their pipe forming mill. The customer had been using a bearing arrangement consisting of 2 different competitor products: a double-row cylindrical along with a needle thrust bearing on each side of the roll. |
Wire Forming Production A customer was experiencing repeated bearing failures on their wire drawing machinery, resulting in excessive downtime and high maintenance costs. The financial impact was significant, and resolution was urgent. |
Caster Turret A steel mill asked NSK to evaluate the condition of their caster turret bearing. An NSK industry specialist evaluated the torsion values of the bolts and determined some had been elongated and needed to be re-torqued. |
Cold Rolling Mill A steel manufacturer was experiencing continued failures of bearings on their Cold Rolling Mill. NSK engineers conducted an application review and found the highly contaminated operating conditions were causing the unexpected failures. |
Continuous Annealing Process Line The continuous annealing process line at a steelworks was experiencing unplanned stoppages. Downtime was averaging 17 hours annually at $23,488 per hour due to required heavy lifting machinery as well as additional maintenance personnel. |
Continuous Casting Machine – Shaped Sections An international steel manufacturer was experiencing regular failures on bearings in a continuous casting machine. The machine is used in the production of shaped sections and as a result the bearings have to accommodate extremely heavy loads. |
Dust Extraction Fan – Coal Dust An ore preparation plant was experiencing high temperatures within a dust extraction fan. The bearing temperature was cooled down at considerable cost by using compressed air. |
Pilger Mill A steel mill customer was experiencing regular failures on bearings in their Pilger Mill. NSK investigated the application and found that severe operating conditions including high loads and inadequate lubrication were causing the failures. |
Plate Rolling Mill A major steel manufacturer was using open work roll bearings in their plate rolling mill. The mill maintenance team was investigating grease alternatives to gain efficiencies. NSK was asked to provide a potential alternative for the bearing application with associated cost savings. |
Wire Guides A wire manufacturer was experiencing frequent damage on final products due to bearing failures within their wire guides. Deep Groove Ball Bearings were used in the application and were failing on average every six weeks, resulting in unplanned maintenance time and loss of production. |