Well functioning industrial bearings can keep the production process running. Bearings are the connecting components of processes, carrying mechanical weight and production loads. They are the heroes behind the scenes, until years of wear and tear eventually make them unbearable, people will see their efforts, pay attention to them, and have to assign professional personnel to maintain them during downtime.
If there is no effective bearing movement, there is a risk of equipment spindle failure and damage. We can adopt some methods to prevent improper wear of bearings and extend their service life, thereby improving process availability and environmental safety; Bearing faults can also be detected through some indicators.
Regardless of whether your facility has recently experienced bearing failures, it cannot be denied that bearings are constantly worn out during every process operation. However, now you can take the following 6 steps to prevent bearings from causing production problems.
Choose the correct bearing design
Choosing the correct bearing design based on the parameters defined in the equipment manufacturer's (OEM) documentation may be the most basic information for bearing operation. The bearing must be able to withstand the load applied to it. For example, the bearing requirements for conveyor belt drive equipment are different from those for direct drive equipment.
In addition, choosing the appropriate bearing size is crucial, otherwise you will face the risk of premature bearing wear and bearing failure. Of course, you should also listen to the advice of the equipment and manufacturer. When it is necessary to replace bearings, the model of the equipment originally used should be selected, unless the equipment malfunctions and needs to be redesigned.
Properly store bearings
Nowadays, most factories try to minimize inventory of spare parts. Through predictive or preventive maintenance, factories can detect potential faults early in order to correct, order, and replace bearings before shutdown. Only order the required parts when needed, and equipment spare parts and bearings do not have to be kept on the shelf all the time.
But sometimes bearings and equipment with bearings must be stored in the factory workshop. In these cases, although the bearings are placed on shelves, they are still affected by vibration due to other equipment running around them. Bearings should be stored properly - in other words, they should be rotated from time to time. If the bearing is not rotated, the bearing ring will produce pressure marks on its surface due to vibration, which will lead to premature failure.
Correctly install bearings
It is not advisable to force the installation of bearings, it is better to heat them to make installation easier. For example, in rolling bearings, if cooled after installation, the inner ring will tightly fit. Heating the inner ring will make it easier to fit during installation.
After installation according to the manufacturer's instructions, the bearings should be rinsed and cleaned with lubricant. Finally, apply an appropriate amount of lubricant before using the equipment. Lubrication is an important measure to improve the service life of bearings.
Lubricate the bearings according to the manufacturer's instructions
Proper lubrication of bearings can extend the service life of bearings and equipment. If there is not enough lubrication, the metal friction between the ball, cage, and raceway will greatly wear down the bearing. If over lubricated, heat will not dissipate and wax will accumulate, causing the bearing to adhere and unable to move flexibly. Both of these situations will ultimately reduce equipment and production efficiency.
Proper lubrication should follow the following points: use the correct amount and viscosity of lubricant according to the load (determined by the equipment manufacturer), avoid extreme temperatures beyond the range, and prevent dirt or other pollutants from entering.
Manufacturers can monitor lubrication by monitoring the stress waves generated by friction. Some industrial tools can also detect short circuits, high-frequency stress waves, and generate corresponding charts. The chart on the right shows the condition of a faulty bearing, where the sealing ring is leaking and the lubricant has been washed away. Under conditions of insufficient lubrication, the software generated chart displays the impact.
But these impacts are random, and some may be as large as 32 G-s. Please note that in the chart, the impact suddenly begins to reach the high alarm fault level. This indicates insufficient lubrication.
If not lubricated properly, the rollers in the bearing may cause the inner or outer rings to deflect and rebound, resulting in stress waves. By adopting new technologies, frequency can be analyzed, stress waves can be monitored, and bearing abnormalities can be detected and eliminated early. Factories can also use ultrasonic testing to detect bearings and determine the amount of lubricant required to reduce friction.
Accurate alignment
In the production environment, the maintenance team bears the responsibility of repairing machines and quickly putting them back into production. But without precise alignment, this task cannot be completed. Correct axis alignment can help improve the reliability and availability of production equipment, and in some cases can extend equipment lifespan by months to years.
If there is no precise alignment between the connecting components, the equipment or unit bearings will experience abnormal wear.
Flexible mechanical couplings will fully absorb a certain amount of misalignment, but this is not applicable for mechanical bearings as it will wear out prematurely. Units that are not aligned can also experience high energy consumption and low efficiency issues.
The best practice is to proactively perform a centering check on the equipment or unit before putting it into operation, and detect any misalignment before starting operation. Then, record the alignment before running, so that the maintenance team can compare daily operations with baseline parameters later.
The laser alignment system ensures that the connecting components are installed correctly before putting them back into use.
Realize equipment balance
Discovered an imbalance in the equipment. For example, if the fan is unbalanced, the bearings will bear more load and shorten their service life. Imbalance can be detected through vibration diagnostic equipment or trained vibration analysts. The collected data can be used to determine whether the device requires precise balancing or thorough cleaning to remove accumulated materials. When maintaining the equipment, ensure that it is accurately restored and components are reinstalled correctly (mark each component before disassembly). Imbalance should be detected after maintenance or restoration.
Monitoring trend data can help analysts determine corrective measures for imbalanced situations. As usage continues, normal wear and material accumulation will slowly and steadily increase. If a part of the equipment breaks or the equipment is assembled incorrectly, the trend will suddenly increase.
Regardless of the cause of the imbalance phenomenon, the additional stress applied to the bearing will lead to abnormal wear and premature failure.
Other diagnostic tests
If you follow the above six steps and still find that bearings need to be replaced every few months, please perform Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA). For example, if you find that there are still abnormal wear marks on the rolling bearings, please contact the bearing manufacturer so that they can inspect and confirm whether the lubrication is sufficient to withstand the load of the bearings.
Vibration analysis is not destructive or invasive, and can detect the degree of bearing wear, installation errors, and other mechanical problems. It allows us to have a detailed understanding of the internal conditions of the equipment and select appropriate techniques to solve the problems found in the overall vibration analysis.
IR thermal imaging can monitor the temperature of couplings and bearings, helping to determine whether faults are temperature related, such as overheating or undercooling.
Oil analysis can detect lubricants or oil samples to determine the presence of abnormal wear particles or contaminants in bearings. This is also a good way to determine if there is a problem with the bearing - by looking up the Babbitt alloy in the sample to determine if there is any contact inside the sliding bearing.
Whether through internal or third-party experts for testing, bearing analysis is an important part of factory installation and maintenance procedures, and has critical significance for short-term and long-term investment returns.