Feature: Split bearings
Split bearing solution cuts conveyor maintenance costs and risks F
or companies and employees in the mining, mineral processing and cement industries, maintenance and replacement of conveyor bearings may come at a very high price. Clive Jennings, SKF Cooper Split Bearings Product Manager at SKF, presents a way of reducing safety risks as well as material and downtime costs. Anatomy of an SKF Cooper split spherical roller bearing – including optional seals
According to some studies, 43 percent of
The conveyors typically use standard open
longevity. The range includes sealed ver-
accidents and 24 percent of fatalities in
(unsealed) pulley bearings, which are vul-
sions which give better protection against
these sectors happen while maintaining
nerable to contamination. These have a
contaminants, for even longer life and lower
conveyors. A key danger often lies in the
relatively short service life (usually less than
grease consumption. Best of all, the bear-
need to hoist heavy couplings and gear-
that of the pulley lagging) and require large
ings are designed for in-situ replacement in
boxes to access bearings. If the process of
amounts of grease to purge contaminants.
much fewer steps, with no need to remove
replacing a bearing could be made quicker
or hoist the gearbox and drive coupling.
and simpler, and if bearings were made to
Rapid wear and damage necessitate fre-
last longer, everyone would benefit. Work-
quent bearing repair and replacement, typi-
Their anatomy includes inner and outer
ers would be safer, maintenance would
cally in hard-to-reach locations. Replacing a
rings, a cage and rollers, an outer shroud
be less expensive and loss of production
standard bearing in the machine’s trapped
and two inner clamp rings. The shrouds
would be minimised.
position is especially difficult and hazard-
and clamp rings are bolted together with
ous, requiring a long sequence of proce-
screws. Two seals are added if that option
dures. It can take up to 24 hours in total.
is chosen. Rings are split using a precision wire-cut-
ing and contamination conditions faced by
Increased bearing life, performance and operational economy
rotating machinery and their bearings in
SKF Cooper split spherical roller bearings
and outer rings and means that the two
plants which handle minerals and cement.
answer all these problems with a durable
halves align more accurately, and supe-
design that brings improved reliability and
rior clamping is achieved. Outer race and
Harsh challenges The challenges SKF has overcome to make this possible are considerable. First, there are the extreme temperature, heavy load-
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ting technique, rather than by fracturing. This minimises discontinuities in the inner
