bearings
- November 22, 2022
A large earthmoving company has improved bushing life by installing Vesconite self-lubricating bushings on some of its equipment.
This is according to the Site Manager Richard Stoltz, who installed Vesconite bushings on the main pivot points of a JCB TLB (tractor-loader-backhoe) and a New Holland skid steer.
Prior to introducing Vesconite, OEM bronze parts were installed on both machines, noted Stoltz.
However, operators did not grease the parts regularly and it was discovered that the bronze bushings tended to wear away within three to six months.
Seeking a solution to the wear problem, the earthmoving
- September 29, 2022
Vesconite Standard
A specialised hard-wearing thermopolymer designed for challenging operating conditions, Vesconite gives up to 10 times the life of traditional bronze or nylon bushings. Combining internal lubrication, a low friction coefficient and low wear rates, Vesconite does not require external lubrication, even where conditions are dry and dirty.
Vesconite Hilube
Vesconite Hilube is a highly advanced thermopolymer in the Vesconite range, particularly suited to operating in wet conditions, including pump and marine applications. Combining low friction and low wear properties, Vesconite Hilube performs exceptionally well under high loads in difficult operating environments.
Both of these materials are now available on our e-commerce store in plates, rods, or bushings forms.
- September 13, 2022
FLOOD-GARD® bearing isolators offer the ultimate sealing solution for aggressive, flooded lubrication environments. With its patent pending IP66 design, FLOOD-GARD® is a revolutionary seal that combines improved safety and overall process efficiency with cost savings through extended equipment and bearing life.
INDUSTRY
Primary Metals
CUSTOMER
A primary metals manufacturer of stainless-steel coil products.
BACKGROUND
A primary metals manufacturer had several gearboxes in their #4 Annealing/Pickling line which leaked oil and required frequent maintenance
- August 25, 2022
Extracting, filtering, milling, purifying, mincing, liquefying, emulsifying, cooking, pickling, pasteurising, canning, slicing, dicing and drying are some of the many physical and chemical means through which raw food ingredients are transformed into other forms.
As with any equipment in a food processing plant, instruments and apparatus need to be assessed on the basis of their longevity, cost and whether they are fit-for-purpose. Important in a hygiene-critical environment though is whether the equipment is safe and hygienic to use. The health toll on consumers can be high if this is not considered, and the impact on a food company can be devastating if hygiene-related issues result in costly food recalls and significant reputational damage.
- July 13, 2022
A Vesconite Hilube U-shaped liner bearing has been used successfully for 350 hours on a Komatsu 675-5 motor grader.
The U-shaped plate bearing is fitted on the mould board side shift of the grader and acts as a guide on the grader assembly.
The grader assembly, in turn, is used to construct water ways, embankments and contours, and generally protect against soil erosion at the farm that produces maize, soya and sugar beans, potatoes, and wheat.
The innovation for this U-Shaped liner bearing was originally constructed by Hans Bester, an engineer for a farm owned by PW Meiring. His first U-shaped liner was assembled out of small pieces of Vesconite Hilube. This had lasted for 600 hours and it outperformed the previous bronze OEM part that had lasted 500 hours in the same application.
- July 08, 2022
It is a helpful takeaway to remember that users get out what they put in. For those familiar with rotating and reciprocating equipment—such as pumps, motors and gearboxes—this certainly rings true, especially when problems arise. Considering the high demands (and high stress) placed on such intricate machinery, time is of the essence. Therefore, when things go wrong, it can be more beneficial to seek out a lasting solution instead of a temporary fix.
For process industries and applications, oil lubrication is used in rotating equipment to reduce friction and minimize the wear of bearings and components during operation. In these arrangements, particularly in gearboxes and gear reducers, it is common to encounter oil lubrication that has been filled to a level that could leak outside of the unit. Often, there are two main types of seals being used to help protect the bearings, each having its own considerations and limitations.
- May 26, 2022
Gallagher's partner, Vesconite Bearings, has established a dedicated extra-large bearings facility within its factory.
It will manufacture no-swell low-friction self-lubricating bearings for large ocean-going vessels, including container ships and oil tankers.
The dedicated facility houses five large horizontal lathes, including a six-meter lathe (20 ft.), and two large vertical lathes.
It also includes an upgraded Superclad machine, which builds up and encases a Vesconite bearing on the external diameter. By using a high-strength epoxy reinforcing system, the resultant jacket provides an extremely strong final structure, combined internally with the exceptional wear properties of Vesconite.
- March 18, 2022
A drop-size carrot sorter, with Vesconite plain bearings installed on its conveyor chains, has worked well at a large carrot producer for two years.
The carrot producer installed the bearings on one of its two processing lines to test whether the processing line with Vesconite performed better than the standard processing line.
Since installation, the carrot farm processor reports that Vesconite bearings on its conveyor chains have reduced wear and resulted in quieter operation.
A drop-size sorter consists of a mainframe with sprockets on each side. A chain runs on the sprockets and a polyethylene plate is attached. Rollers, spaced increasingly further apart, are located on the polyethylene plate and carrots, depending on their size, fall through the differently-spaced rollers into bins below.
- February 11, 2022
After replacing the all-rubber cutlass bearing of his new Jeanneau Sun Fast 35 Tide The Knot two times in seven years, Robert Metzen sought an alternative. A fellow sailor told him about his positive experience with Hilube as a rudder bearing. Shortly after contacting Leandro Panzini from Vesconite distributor VesArg, Metzen had a state-of-the-art polymer bearing installed.
At 2,300 rpm, a sailboat engine will spin its propeller shaft a million times in less than eight hours. Cutlass bearing materials such as rubber and bronze wear prematurely. This creates excessive shuddering and can seriously damage an expensive shaft, log or strut. Metzen experienced severe vibration at 2,900-3,000 rpm.
- January 27, 2022
Vesconite Bearings is exploring new engineering design methods, including reducing or eliminating grooves, where possible, in industrial and marine applications.
Vesconite’s bearing materials are internally lubricated so, when replacing traditional materials, Vesconite is challenging engineers to explore designs that remove redundant or superfluous grooves for cooling lubricant or water.
For instance, Vesconite engineers have redesigned a forklift lower wear pad without the seven grooves on the upper surface that were in place in the original moulded nylon parts.
“Eliminating grooves improves the structural integrity of the part and reduces manufacturing times and costs,” says forklift application engineer Calvin Mpofu.
Similarly, Vesconite Bearings can better on previous marine stern-tube bearing designs where constant