Life Lube Comes to the Recuse on Conveyor Line
At NSK, we often talk about harsh environments, like quarrying and mining, construction or the cement industry, where our bearings need to be able to stand up to all sorts of abuse. We’re proud to produce products which can handle extreme loads, vibration and contamination, but there are many different ways that an environment can be inhospitable to a bearing. Take the food and beverage sector for instance…
If bearings are manufactured for use in food production machinery, then it’s a safe bet that they will need to stand up to regular, high-pressure wash downs, which are of course needed to maintain the high standards of hygiene demanded around food. Unfortunately, this sort of regimen can easily lead to corrosion, seal damage and grease wash-out, resulting in regular maintenance and production downtime as a result of bearing failures.
One customer of ours was experiencing such failures every four to six weeks when it came to the ball bearing inserts on their conveyor line. Knowing the situation was untenable, the customer asked NSK to step in and investigate. Our team of highly trained experts looked into the situation and recommended that the company opt for NSK Life-Lube® on the line instead.
Life-Lube®, which is sold under NSK’s RHP brand, is a bearing unit which combines the corrosion resistant properties of Silver-Lube® housings (another RHP bearing unit) with the excellent sealing and lubricating properties of NSK Molded-Oil inserts. Life-Lube® units are specifically for use in industries where contact with water and process fluids is unavoidable, meaning excellent chemical resistance is required and a longer lubrication life is necessary.
Key features and benefits of Life Lube® include its corrosion resistant properties, its paint free housings which prevent chipping and flaking, its resistance to contamination and the fact that there is absolutely no need to ever re-lubricate the product.
‘RHP Self-Lube bearings are renowned world-wide for their quality, robust design and established performance,’
Rob Bryan - Territory Manager, UK and Ireland
The customer put our proposal into action and immediately began to see significant improvements in bearing life with no failures at all during the trial period. The increased reliability and reduced downtime resulted in a cost saving of around €70,000 per year.
‘RHP Self-Lube bearings are renowned world-wide for their quality, robust design and established performance,’ said Rob Bryan, Territory Manager for the UK and Ireland. ‘NSK is proud to offer RHP bearings as part of our wide product range, providing excellent ex-stock availability and technical service. The RHP Life-Lube specification for the Food and Beverage industry is the choice for arduous applications.’
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