Saving on lost production costs
May 1st 2008 NSK deployed its Asset Improvement Programme (AIP)
on behalf of a manufacturer of sugar coated sweets.
The result has been a savings on annual bearings and
maintenance costs of £130,000 per annum
The nature of the bearing problem
experienced by the confectionery
manufacturer was water ingress into
the bearings on a conveyor carrying
sweets. This was causing crystallisation of
sugar on the equipment, and subsequent
costly machine breakdowns, resulting in
lost production, which was costing the
company over £254,000 per year.
Obviously this ongoing cost was
unsustainable; so an initiative was
launched with a view to sourcing more
durable bearings. As part of this initiative,
engineers from NSK's Asset Improvement
Programme (AIP) were called in to give
advice. AIP is designed for end-user
bearing customers that are looking for
more than just product supply. Rather, they
are looking for a value-added service that
helps them to improve reliability, reduce
operating costs, and improve efficiency
and profitability.
The NSK engineers identified the sugar
crystallisation problem and suggested a
solution using NSK's Molded Oil bearings.
These units employ a special solid
lubricant to transform the performance of
machinery, in terms of reliability,
maintenance free intervals and operation,
in environments exposed to high humidity,
corrosion and contamination.
Molded Oil is said to offer more than
twice the operating life of grease
lubrication in water contaminated
environments. Moreover, the technology
means that operating environments are
kept free of grease; and there is no need
for refilling of lubricant, as Molded Oil
provides a continuous supply of
lubricating oil.
As part of NSK's recommended
solution, Molded-Oil bearing inserts were
fitted to the conveyor and trialled over an
extended period of 18-months. The trial
was a complete success, resulting in the
manufacturer ordering Molded-Oil inserts
to replace all original bearings when they
failed. As an added benefit, regreasing has
now been eliminated, representing an
additional major saving in labour and
downtime. In addition, the company has
taken up another aspect of NSK's
recommended solution, its AIP Care and
Maintenance Training programme, as a
security against possible future problems
in other areas of its production. More articles from NSK Bearings Europe Limited: | 
