Roller-bearings manufacturer SKF reports that it has added the sealed spherical roller bearing (SRB) to its range of high-quality products. The SRB is a three-barrier solution that is virtually maintenance free, which is an advantage for the mining and minerals industry.
The benefits of the sealed SRB include a longer bearing service life; elimination of expensive relubrication systems; reduced grease consumption and, therefore, a reduced need for maintenance; and improved worker safety.
“With bearings having to be replaced every fourth year, together with the replacement of the pulleys, requiring planned maintenance stops, one could calculate the average SRB cost at R230 000 (based on 20 pulleys over four years).
“During this life span, bearing failures were mostly caused by bad sealing, sometimes causing unplanned stops resulting in eight hours of conveyor belt downtime. The average failure frequency for each customer is three to five years. Sometimes, mainly in the mining sector, full production loss is the consequence,” says SKF marketing communications officer Samantha Joubert.
SKF’s sealed SRB solution has drastically reduced unplanned bearing failures and increased the mean time between failures for its customers. The SKF three-barrier solution has also provided a cost-efficient solution.
“SKF’s sealed SRB range is protected and ready to run, owing to its being filled with high-performance grease at the factory. Taper or cylindrical bores are also available and have identical carrying capacity to the open SRB range. The sealed SRBs have a misalignment capability of 0.5º and the same availability as the open SRB. A large assortment with Inter- national Organisation for Standardisation dimensions is available. Generally, a sealed bearing has an improved rating life of two to four times that of an open bearing,” she adds.
Further, SKF also proudly provides a value proposition for conveyer original-equipment manufacturers and aftermarket customers, which includes a new range, namely cylindrical and tapered bore bearings. Sleeves are available for the sealed units – the full range of sleeves that match those used with open SRB’s.
New environment-friendly grease can be used in SKF or customer housings, which acts as the third protection barrier. Standard, labyrinth or rubber seals are used, which, therefore, reduce the need for expensive and complex taconite sealing arrangements. The sealed SRB’s also offer prolonged service life for conveyor units.