NSK, Motion & Control
NSK bearings for Automotive Production
Downtime on a vehicle production line costs millions. To ensure uninterrupted production, you need to be able to rely on high-quality individual components in your production systems.
We have extensive experience of collaborating with a large number of companies from the automotive industry. We can help you to avoid the expense of unplanned downtime and boost productivity.
NSK’s bearings and linear systems have gained a global reputation for quality and reliability. They are used in areas with continuous high speeds, such as conveyor belts, and/or extreme temperatures, such as drying ovens. With their capabilities and long life, they also perform impressively well in contaminated areas such as automotive paint shops and especially where precision is crucial – at robot work cells.
Our NSK automotive experts understand your requirements – whether you need initial equipment, servicing or repairs. We will happily help you to keep your production systems running and make your manufacturing processes even more efficient.
STAMPING
Operating conditions: heavy loads
During production processes such as rolling, stamping, cutting and deep drawing, steel is subject to considerable loads in order to shape and machine the metal. The machines used are placed under a great deal of strain.
Total Quality Solution:
NSK spherical roller bearings with brass or steel cages from the NSKHPS™ series
Products from the NSKHPS™ series (High Performance Standard) boast a long life, even in extreme conditions such as heavy loads and high speeds. They last twice as long as conventional spherical roller bearings, ensuring longer machine running times and lower maintenance costs. The vastly improved cages and optimised internal construction make NSKHPS™ spherical roller bearings resistant to wear and give them a 20% higher speed limit.
HTF ball screws and angular-contact thrust ball bearings from the TAC series guarantee precision and reliability, even when they are exposed to heavy loads.
Production / Body shell
Operating conditions: maximum-precision robots in contaminated environments with fast accelerations and braking
Conveyors and robots are used throughout the process of manufacturing vehicle shells. When they are assembling the chassis and side panels or welding, the robots have to work with the utmost precision whilst constantly changing speed and direction. To make things even more difficult, the production line is contaminated by welding and can even become damaged.
Total Quality Solution:
LH, LS linear guides with NSK’s long-term lubrication unit K1 , NSKHPS™ angular-contact ball bearings, sealed angular-contact ball bearings, bearings for ball screws from the TAC series, Molded-Oil technology for bearings in conveyor belts
NSK’s solution safeguards the robots’ precision, speed and reliability. The components’ long life reduces servicing costs for both robots and conveyors. This is thanks, in part, to NSK’s long-term lubrication unit K1, which enables virtually maintenance-free operations. In addition to this, far less lubricant is needed, which considerably cuts costs.
Paint shop
Operating conditions: environment with high temperatures and contamination, highly conducive to developing corrosion
To guarantee top-quality results – corrosion-resistant paintwork with a perfect finish – the vehicle body goes through a process consisting of various dips and coats of paint. However, the anti-corrosion treatments are highly corrosive for the production line itself. The linear guides used in the manufacturing process can also sustain damage. After leaving the paint shop, the body passes through drying ovens on conveyor belts, which have to withstand extremely high temperatures.
Total Quality Solution:
NSK V1 linear guides
Thanks to low-temperature chrome plating, the linear guides last more than five times longer than conventional guides with no such coating. Furthermore, the NSK lubrication unit K1 enables very long, maintenance-free running times – even in difficult lubrication conditions. The sealed guide units are ideal for the whole paint shop process.
NSK’s special solid lubricant Molded-Oil significantly reduces downtime caused by bearing failures at medium temperatures.
Power Train
Operating conditions: precision even at high speeds
Many vehicle manufacturers produce their own engines and transmissions. The processes involved – turning, milling and grinding – demand absolute precision even at high speeds. Increasing use is being made of high-speed spindles, which operate precisely, reliably and cost-effectively.
Total Quality Solution:
Sealed angular-contact ball bearings, ROBUST cylindrical and roller bearings and angular contact for high speeds with special patented SHX steel.
All of NSK’s solutions are ideal for the various machine tools used in the production processes for engines and transmissions. They ensure that this machinery runs precisely and enable long, maintenance-free operations, thereby safeguarding high levels of productivity in the process as a whole.
