NSK Bearing material technologies maximise earnings potential for operators of recycling plants

The life of bearings in waste recycling plants are anything but easy

The escalating cost of landfill, plus EU requirements for increased levels of recycling mean that recycling plants are coming under ever increasing operational pressures. Significant investments in plant and equipment are an answer to these pressures, at the same time opening up possible new revenue streams as processing of recycling materials becomes more efficient and inclusive. However, the generation of such revenues - and the ability to maximise earning potentials - depends on efficient continual operation of all installed plant and equipment, particularly items such as separators, screens and crushing plant.

All these close- to- process items rely on the reliable and efficient operation of rolling bearings. However, the nature of the materials that have to be recycled: including glass, metals, plastics, wood and even stone, means that the life of bearings used in recycling plant is anything but easy - moisture, dust, abrasive particles - that contaminate lubricant and lead to premature bearing failure.

For plant operators looking to protect their investments against such occurrences NSK has developed its Super TF and Hi-TF bearing steels. Bearings manufactured from Hi-TF and Super-TF steels are an answer to problems of bearing failure resulting not only from contaminated, but also from insufficient lubricant.

In comparison with bearings made of ordinary carburised steel, Hi-TF offers up to 7 times the life with contaminated lubricant, and up to 1.5 times the life with clean lubricant. Super-TF material improves on these figures by offering up to 10 times the life with contaminated lubrication and up to twice the life where the lubricant is clean. Where the problem is related to insufficient lubrication, the life of Super TF is still impressive at around 5.5 times (4.7 for Hi-TF) that of ordinary carburised steel.

Super TF and Hi-TF technologies can be applied to a wide range of bearing types. For example, they can be used on spherical roller bearings that are employed in crushers, separators and screens.

In addition, cylindrical roller bearings, tapered roller bearings, deep groove ball bearings and angular contact ball bearings can also benefit from the two material technologies.

Also providing a solution against the ingress of abrasive particles and water in recycling operations are NSK's Molded OilTM bearings. These are particularly useful in harsh environments where bearings are hard to access, making maintenance - and relubrication - difficult.

Molded OilTM bearings employ a special solid lubricant to positively transform the performance of machinery exposed to high humidity, corrosion and contamination. The bearings achieve improvements in performance and reliability by offering more than twice the operating life of grease lubrication in water-contaminated environments. The solid lubricant technology also means that there is no need for refilling of lubricant, as Molded Oil provides a continuous supply of lubricating oil.