A quarrying company was experiencing short service life on its conveyor tail drum take-up unit. Located in an inaccessible area beneath a shaker screen, the unit´s bearings were subjected to particularly arduous conditions due to their exposure to the elements. This situation was compounded by the fact that regular re-greasing was a difficult task due to the remote bearing location, subsequently leading to regular bearing failure and costly conveyor downtime. NSK analysed the bearing application and found that water and grit were entering the bearings and causing failure. A trial was suggested using RHP Self-Lube® with Triple Lip Seals. This proved very successful and extended the service life from 4 months to over 1 year.
Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Old bearings per conveyor | €174 | New bearings | €63 | |
Bearing life: 4 months. 3 hours loss of production on failure @ €960/h (3 per year) | €8.629 | Bearing life: Ongoing. Loss of production since build | €2.876 | |
Maintenance costs: 3 x €68/h (3 per year) | €616 | Maintenance costs (original build) | €205 | |
Total Costs | € 9 419 | € 3 144 |
Reference:SS-E-2014