Success Story
Industry: Food and Beverage
Application: Carrot Washer
Cost Savings: $12,937
Introduction
A premium vegetable processing company was experiencing frequent bearing failure on a vegetable wash application. Failures caused significant downtime and reduced production. NSK carried out a bearing failure analysis revealing ingress of contamination leading to significant reduction in bearing time. NSK recommended NSK Life-Lube with Molded-Oil inserts. A trial was conducted demonstrating improved bearing life which reduced downtime, maintenance costs and increased productivity.
Key Facts
- High volume vegetable cleaning line
- Frequent bearing failure caused significant production down time and high maintenance costs
- Water and hard particle ingress
- NSK Solution: Life-Lube with Molded-Oil inserts
- Bearing life increased from 1.5 months to over 12 months
- Productivity improvement
- Carrot wascher
- NSK Molded-Oil insert
Value Proposals
- NSK engineering conducted a Bearing Failure Analysis showing ingress of contamination into the bearing causing washout of lubricant and subsequent bearing failure
- NSK engineering conducted a Process Mapping exercise of the application identifying problematic bearing areas
- NSK engineering conducted an Application Analysis of the washer application and proposed NSK Life-Lube units with Molded-Oil inserts
- A test phase was agreed which resulted in an increase of bearing life from 1.5 months to over 12 months
- The customer realized increased productivity and reduced maintenance costs
Product Features
- PBT thermoplastic resin housing
- Molded-Oil inserts (with solid lubricant)
- Martensitic stainless steel
- Nitrile rubber seals
- Available in Pillow Block, 2 and 4 bolt flanges and take-up unit housings
- Bore size 20mm - 40mm
- Corrosion resistance
- Paint free housings, preventing chipping & flaking
- Resistant to contamination increasing operating life
- Ideal for operations where fluid process is unavoidable
- No need for re-lubrication
Cost Saving Breakdown
| Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Production | $12,253 | Lost Produciton: None in 12 months | $0 | |
| Maintenance: 2 personnel @ $19/hr for 2 hrs x 9 shut downs per year | $684 | Maintenance: none | €0 | |
| Total Costs | $12,937 | $0 | ||
Reference:SS-E-2048
