NSK has resolved the issue of repeated spindle bearing failures on four CNC machining centres at the plant of a leading automotive industry supplier. Having identified the root cause of why the spindle bearings were failing every two weeks, the facility is now enjoying savings of €32,880 per annum.

In the food industry, comprehensive cleaning regimes are commonplace as companies look to meet stringent sector requirements on hygiene. However, such practices can prove detrimental to production line components, not least the bearings that provide motion in critical machinery, equipment and systems. Here, spraying with hot steam, high-pressure water jets or very strong cleaning agents can cause two principal problems: foreign objects entering the bearings; and lubricant being washed out of the bearings. For these reasons, NSK offers a comprehensive range of Molded-Oil bearings that is purpose-designed to deliver extended operating life in harsh food industry environments.

Users of rolling bearings across Europe can now draw upon the newly updated version of a key industry resource – the revised and renewed Rolling Bearings catalogue from NSK. This essential 700+ page guide to rolling bearing technology is available as an online E-Book and in print.

A new AIP+ tutorial has been added to the NSK academy online training platform (www.nskacademy.com). The induction heater module is the latest to join other AIP+ (Added Value Programme) maintenance and service tool tutorials already available on the site.

Faced with frequent failures on its centrifugal pumps for water recirculation, a large CHP (combined heat and power) plant in Romania asked NSK and its local distributor to perform an on-site bearing investigation. The outcome identified poor lubrication of the pump bearings as the source of the failures, with NSK recommending the adoption of sealed-for-life bearings featuring DDU seals and high-temperature grease. In total, the move has led to annual cost savings of €28,970, while simultaneously offering a significant improvement in performance.

Following last year’s launch of the NSK academy online training platform www.nskacademy.com, a further new AIP+ tutorial module has been added to the site: the LAS-Set laser alignment tool for shafts. All of NSK’s specially developed tutorials outline the optimum way to use the innovative range of maintenance and service tools that form an integral part of the company’s AIP+ Added Value Programme. Essentially offering a guide to best-practice bearing care, each tutorial explains how to realise and maintain the profitable operation of machinery.

Solving real-life challenges in the machine tool industry is one of NSK’s primary aims for this fast-moving marketplace. At the EMO 2017 exhibition in Hanover, Germany, the company displayed ball screws with nut cooling particularly suited to high-speed linear drive applications as they help dissipate the inevitable heat that is generated. As a result, the ball screws offer improved cooling performance and better economy in comparison with traditional solutions such as hollow shaft spindles.

NSK used the recent EMO 2017 exhibition in Hanover, Germany as the launch platform for a number of innovations designed to enhance machine tool performance. Among the major introductions was a new generation of DIN-standard ball screws. The high-speed, low-noise ball screws not only overcome the specific challenges of European machine tool applications, but also conform to DIN 69051 (ISO 3408) with regard to both dimensional and tolerance classes.

NSK will use the forthcoming EMO 2017 exhibition (Hanover, Germany, 18-23 September) to shine the spotlight on a number of new and recent innovations for the global machine tool market. These will include advances in angular contact ball bearings for main spindles, deep groove ball bearings for spindle motors, and toughened ball screws specifically for injection moulding machines. Also featured on the NSK booth (Hall 7, Stand D12) will be a working demonstration of a condition monitoring system (CMS) with real-time vibration analysis displayed on a monitor.

NSK has released a new cost saving calculator that allows users to quickly calculate the potential total life cost savings by using NSK bearings in any given application. The App can be downloaded onto any Apple, Android or Windows based phones or tablets, or directly onto your PC or laptop.