Five signs that you should replace your bearings before it’s too late

The consequences of bearing failures can range from slightly inconvenient to completely catastrophic, causing irreparable damage to surrounding machinery. No company wants to bear the cost of failure if it can be avoided. Therefore, it is important to be able to recognize the bearing fault warning signs so that you can quickly detect it and schedule repairs before a failure occurs.

Here are five warning signs to look out for and indicate that it may be time to replace the bearings before a malfunction occurs.

Lubrication

Since 36% of bearing failures are attributed to lubrication problems, it is well known that using the wrong type or amount of lubricant can lead to bearing failure. Contamination can also occur during lubrication when foreign particles stick to the end of the grease gun, entering the bearing. If you become aware that the wrong type of grease has been applied to the bearing, a malfunction has probably already occurred. Similarly, if the bearing has dried out due to lack of lubrication or grease has leaked through the seal due to excessive lubrication, the damage is probably already done. Adding grease to a bearing with a lubrication problem can seem like a good fix. In fact, it’s just masking the problem. You will need to determine the severity of the problem using data such as temperature and vibration and replace the bearing before it leads to a catastrophic malfunction.

Timely lubrication is one of the most important factors in extending service life and performance. Schaeffler has developed the right solution for this: CONCEPT 2 and CONCEPT 8.

Astraprom d.o.o. is a proud distributor of Schaeffler products and we can offer all lubrication devices and technical support for all tools.

For more information, contact us at info@astra-prom.hr or 051 / 223-633

CONCEPT 2 has a very compact design and is available with one or two pumps. This allows output for each lubrication interval.

Lubrication intervals can be fully programmed via the display. The maximum number of lubrication positions is 8.

CONCEPT 8 is the right solution if there is a need for more lubrication points. It can be supplied with up to four pumps, and each pump has 2 outlets. This allows even greater flexibility in lubricating the installations with the right amount of grease at the right time. The maximum number of lubrication positions is 24.

Contamination

Almost 14% of bearing failures are caused by pollution. It is possible that high pressure washes emulsified the grease, making it ineffective. This leads to metal-metal contact inside the bearing, creating heat and friction. Inefficient seals can also lead to particle contamination, spoiling grease. This particle contamination can also be abrasive, causing damage to the bearing track surface. If you are aware that there has been contamination of your bearing, it is wise to replace the bearing as soon as possible. Chances are that a malfunction has already occurred and it is only a matter of time before this will lead to further problems in your machine.

Vibration

Vibrations are a sure sign of failure. If the bearing track surface is damaged by abrasion, the rolling elements (balls or rollers) will bounce on the track surface during operation, causing a high level of vibration. If you notice that your bearing vibrates abruptly during operation, it is time to replace it. If not, you might find that a catastrophic failure is not far off, causing excessive downtime and high costs.

We also offer a solution for this in the form of Schaeffler’s FAG DETECTOR III device for vibrodiagnostics.

For more information, contact us at info@astra-prom.hr or 051 / 223-633

FAG DETECTOR III is used for vibration monitoring to enable reliable detection of damage and elimination of imbalances and causes of failures in operating systems.

Increased noise / sound

If your bearing is suddenly noisy during operation, you will encounter a bearing failure. This excess noise is created when the bearing tracks are damaged, causing the rolling elements to bounce or rattle during rotation. If you notice that your bearing roars excessively while working, you will need to replace it as soon as possible. A malfunction has already occurred on the bearing and a machine failure could occur at any time. We guarantee top quality bearings and fast and safe delivery. See our great offer at https://astra-prom.hr/kategorija-proizvoda/lezajevi/

Elevated operating temperature

When the roller bearing elements are found on damaged ungreased tracks, this will result in excessive friction. This friction generates energy that causes the bearing temperature to rise. The more significant the damage, the higher the temperature will be due to the levels of friction present. Regular bearing temperature checks can alert you to a bearing failure that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. It is important not only to replace the bearing, but to look for the root cause of the failure. By performing an effective root cause analysis, you can enable you to implement mitigation measures to avoid the same problem in the future, further downtime, and additional costs to your business. Condition monitoring systems are a great way to continuously monitor the health of your machines during operation, alerting you to potential problems.

Schaeffler’s FAG TempCheck PRO offers a solution just for that.

For more information, contact us at info@astra-prom.hr or 051 / 223-633

The FAG TempCheck PRO infrared thermometer is suitable for thermal monitoring of machine components and fluids. Temperatures can be measured by non-contact or contact means. It measures the infrared radiation emitted by an object and uses it to calculate the surface temperature. Non-contact measurement makes it easy to determine the temperature of hard-to-reach or moving parts.

SOURCE: www.bearing-news.com

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