NSK Spherical Roller Bearings Make Light of Heavy Industry

Dennis Brigg-Price, UK Aftermarket Sales Manager - NSK Europe

Dennis works closely with Hayley Group branches to support customers with their bearing requirements. He has spent the last eight years at NSK Europe, based out of the company’s long-standing site in Newark, Nottinghamshire. His background is in mechanical engineering.

 

NSK is among the world’s leading manufacturers of rolling bearings. We have 106 years of history, 65 production facilities around the world (including four in the UK at Newark and Peterlee), and a myriad of sales offices and technology centres to support our customers with short decision-making channels, prompt deliveries and local service.

Over the course of the past century, our expert teams have been continuously expanding and improving the NSK product portfolio, including the development of a wide range of bearings for heavy industries. Here, our HPS (High Performance Standard) spherical roller bearings (SRBs) have proven themselves in delivering exceptional service life in arduous operating conditions, such as extremely heavy and high impact loads in steelmaking, mining and construction, and extreme speeds and high heat in papermaking.

Of course, these products are not mere load-bearing components, they are performance enhancers. In comparison to conventional SRBs, the NSKHPS series offers a 20% higher limiting speed and a 25% higher dynamic load rating, enabling OEMs to downsize machines without any loss of capacity. Further advantages include the ability to operate effectively in temperatures up to 200°C, optimal raceway design and surface finish for durability and wear resistance, higher permissible misalignment, and availability with a strengthened steel cage or heavy-duty brass cage. You will also benefit from low running noise and reduced heat generation thanks to improved lubricant flow.

Any company serving heavy industry that is looking to mitigate the costs associated with maintenance and operations - and improve throughput and profitability - should take a closer look at the NSKHPS series of SRBs available from Hayley. The measure of differentiation that these bearings provide arrives through a synthesis of NSK technologies: state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, the highest quality materials, and innovative design fundamentals.

So, if you have a heavy industry requirement for a spherical roller bearing from 40 mm bore diameter, up to 2 m outside diameter, maybe it’s time to take advantage of the added value provided by the NSKHPS series of SRBs. Our long-standing relationships with many world-renowned OEMs are testament to their performance, who trust in these SRBs as they help to maximise uptime through high rigidity, high radial load capacity, axial load support in both directions and high-speed performance.

A good example is a large OEM of lifting and material processing machinery. One of the company’s principal products is a large vibrating screen that grades stones for quarrying and mining customers. The operating conditions are exceptionally harsh, which is why all of the machines built by the company rely on NSK’s long-life vibrating screen series SRBs. These bearing types have modifications with special dimensional tolerances and radial internal clearances to prevent seizure.

When contamination is your main problem, we also have sealed SRB versions to prevent dust ingress. Among the latest innovations is a bearing type which has a detachable seal for clearance checks during mounting and lubrication yet does not exceed ISO boundary dimensions. If fluid penetration within the bearing housing is an issue - causing corrosion and grease washout - we have a solution with Molded-oil, a solid lubricant that increases service life in wet environments three-fold.

A further differentiating factor is our proprietary bearing materials, which offer enhanced service life that is often up to twice that of conventional alternatives, reducing replacement frequency. Our TL (tough and long life) series bearings, for instance, are ideal for the heated rolls in papermaking machinery, resisting the thermal shock that can crack standard bearing steel.

Similarly, our SWR (super wear resistant) series can overcome problems in the steel sector, where high load and low speed cause unfavourable wear patterns in standard bearing steel, leading to cracking and shortened life span. SWR has three times the wear resistance of conventional bearing steel.

As this article hopefully spells out, our SRB solutions are adept at resisting seizure and wear in demanding operating conditions that include constant vibration, heat and shock loads. In particular, NSKHPS bearings, with their higher dynamic load, not only deliver service life up to twice that of industry-standard bearings but reduce maintenance requirements and lower total cost of ownership. Produced in accordance with international ISO standards, these bearings are subject to global admiration for their high performance and high quality.

 

If you want to find out how NSK spherical roller bearings can add value to your machine or process, speak to your local Hayley Group branch.