By Lily Bearings
©2004-2008
NSK has combined the improved reliability and maintenance-free benefits of its Molded Oil lubrication technology with the corrosion-resistance of stainless steel in a new range of ball bearing units for use in environments where cleanliness and high resistance to corrosion are priorities. Typical applications will be found in the food and beverage processing and packaging industries.
The new bearing units are manufactured in martensitic stainless steel to cope with the operating environment and cleaning agents. They are claimed to reduce the cost of ownership for users through their superior resistance to corrosion and chemical attack, and offer all the cost- and time-saving benefits of prefabricated bearing units, with pillow block and flange types available. Importantly, all of these versions are interchangeable with current NSK units, and also with ISO-standard variants.
To complement their performance in environments where hygiene and/or corrosion resistance is paramount, the stainless steel bearing units are equipped with NSK's innovative Molded Oil technology. This a special solid lubricant that benefits machinery and equipment in terms of reliability, maintenance intervals and operation, in environments exposed to high humidity, corrosion and contamination.
The effectiveness of Molded Oil technology enables users to make cost savings by replacing existing, and often costly, methods of lubricating machine parts. In real-world tests, Molded Oil is said to show more than twice the operating life of grease lubrication in water-contaminated environments. In addition, the technology means that operating environments are kept free of grease; and there is no need to replenish lubricants.
Molded Oil technology is particularly effective in environments such as food processing where oil-related pollution must be prevented. The technology also effectively overcomes the problem of loss of lubricant due to water ingress. As a result, many machines that are used in food production, packaging, bottling and chemical processing, which would normally suffer progressive lubricant loss, can benefit from increased reliability and longer maintenance intervals simply by specifying Molded Oil bearings in preference to standard bearings and lubrication technologies.