NSK provides bakery with a guide to success
NSK’s NH/NS Series of linear guides offers maximal precision combined with extremely high load ratings. The product’s outstanding accuracy means that the object in motion is positioned precisely and moves optimally, with smooth, even running guaranteed. These linear guides are used for a wide variety of task and across a range of different industries. On the product page of our website you’ll see machine tools listed alongside material handling, the medical industry, semiconductors and woodworking, but as you’ll learn from the case study below, they can also solve problems for the food and beverage sector.
The series came to the rescue for one baker we worked with, whose unreliable linear guides (in use on the band cutters of their dough machine) were wreaking havoc with production. The bakery asked NSK’s team of highly trained expert engineers to take a look. The existing linear guides were Armoloy coated and used food grade grease, but even so they weren’t meeting the required performance standards, needing to be replaced every three weeks. Naturally this meant that the bakery wasn’t able to meet its own production targets and was wasting both time and money on unscheduled maintenance.
What the bakery was after were linear guides which could offer them both increased speeds and longer service life, which would in turn allow them to maximise their production. In terms of speed, they had a very clear target in mind and wanted to increase the number of cycles per hour on the application from 250 to 310. Our team proposed a stainless steel linear guide from our high speed NH/NS Series alongside a food grade K1 lubrication unit. The bakery agreed to conduct a trial based on a single set of guides.
NSK’s NH/NS Series offers extraordinarily high levels of precision and speed.
As outlined above, NSK’s NH/NS Series offers extraordinarily high levels of precision and speed, which come as standard across the entire series of linear guides. They also operate extremely quietly and come with a self-aligning feature which accommodates misalignment and minimises internal loads. Further benefits include a range of different preload categories, unlimited rail length (as individual sections can be used together), optimum absorption of impact loads and ease of assembly. Optional extras include the K1-L long-term lubrication unit, various special materials and coatings and high performance V1 seals.
After carrying out the trial the company found that the new linear guides lasted an incredible 10 times longer than the ones they had replaced. This meant that, even though they cost twice as much as their predecessors, the NH/NS Series allowed the bakery to reduce maintenance costs and unplanned downtime, whilst increasing production efficiency. This translated into a cost saving of more than €200,000 per year, which shows the benefits of investing in the best quality products.
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