project updates 19
LONG-LIFE BEARING SOLUTION FOR BAKERY OVEN FAN A UK BAKERY WAS EXPERIENCING regular, unexpected stoppages due to the premature failure of pillow-block ball-bearing mounted units fitted to the recirculation fan of a high-temperature oven. Failures of these bearing units were causing significant disruption to the bun production line at the bakery, leading to high downtime costs and spoilt product. With bearing failures occurring every six weeks, the management team set out to find a solution, and invited NSK to investigate the issue as part of its AIP Added Value Programme. Upon completion of a full application review and failed bearing analysis, NSK engineers concluded that the bearings were seizing from excessive pre-loading and the use of incorrect lubricant. The existing bearings were found to be inadequate for the operating conditions of the oven fan unit – which is belt-driven in a vertical orientation. Fan reliability is vital as it recirculates air within the oven to ensure uniform temperature and evenly baked products. NSK proposed the adoption of its SNN
series plummer blocks with spherical roller bearings and labyrinth seals, and recommended the correct bearing location, radial internal clearance (RIC) and lubrication. This solution would offer higher axial and radial load support, aided by a ´floating´ arrangement to accommodate thermal expansion of the shaft and tolerate any fan imbalance. A trial was conducted and the solution resulted in an immediate improvement, with bearing life extended from 6 to 27 weeks, and this resulted in a reduction of both machine downtime and maintenance costs. In combination with plummer blocks, adoption of the spherical roller bearings
and labyrinth seals has enabled the bakery to make large cost savings via fewer bearing replacements, less breakdowns, reduced maintenance technician costs and less spoilt product, ultimately leading to improved production efficiency and better equipment reliability. www.nskeurope.com/en
One day turnaround for new gear unit ASSEMBLY AND DELIVERY OF AN INDUSTRIAL GEAR unit, requested by Brammer Buck & Hickman, for an end customer in the sand and gravel industry, was achieved by SEW Eurodrive in just one day following a gear failure. The unit was ordered via SEW Eurodrive’s new ATO1 service which offers assembly and delivery in just one day. A parallel helical gear unit with additional fan cooling, rated at 36,000Nm, was built to replace a failed unit on a sand and gravel scrubber, known as a trommel. The trommel is a large cylindrical drum that rotates sand and gravel in the first stage of a washing operation that
processes material at a rate of 350 tonnes an hour. This is a critical part of the plant and Brammer Buck & Hickman needed a supplier that was able to quickly respond to its requirements and provide a solution to get the customer back in to production. Taking advantage of SEW Eurodrive’s new Assemble-toOrder services, with the ATO1 premium one day service, has helped Brammer Buck & Hickman get the plant up and running again with minimal downtime. www.sew-eurodrive.co.uk
HELICAL GEARED MOTOR REBUILD FOR BRAKE TESTING SYSTEM WHEN A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BRAKE tester system, belonging to a company that MOT’s commercial vehicles, started to fail the company set out to get it fixed. The problem was found to be down to a helical geared motor with a two-stage gearbox, which was showing signs of wear. Excessive noise had been reported when the motor was running in a clockwise direction, but no noise at all when running anti-clockwise. The brake had also not been operating efficiently. The customer initially www.theaemt.com
enquired with the machine manufacturer about the problem, but as the gearbox was licensed to the manufacturer, it insisted on a new one being fitted, which would be a costly expense and would have a long lead time that was unacceptable for the
commercial vehicle MOT company. The company contacted Rotor Technical Services in the hope that the original geared motor could be repaired, rather than replaced. New gears, bearings, seals, components and a brake kit, allowed Rotor Technical Services to provide a full rebuild of the gearbox, offering a fast and more cost-effective option than having to purchase a complete new unit. www.rotortechnicalservices.co.uk Quarter 1 2021
