Bearing News
28/04/2009
NSK’s New HPS™ Angular Contact Bearings
Improvements in service life of up to 18% & speeds 15% to 20% higher
NSK’s new standard HPS (High Performance Standard) series of angular contact bearings is designed to lower the operating costs of industrial machinery such as pumps, compressors, and gearboxes, providing higher efficiency, higher speeds, better reliability and much improved service life to maximise whole life costs for bearing users.
The HPS series of angular contact bearings is synergy of optimised internal design and NSK’s proprietary material technology. This combination has produced an improvement of up to 18% in bearing service life compared to conventional bearings, reducing the frequency of maintenance intervals and cutting operating costs. Moreover, these cost savings can be boosted in some applications, with reductions in energy costs. This is possible due to the improved service life of the HPS series sometimes allowing for the substitution of smaller size bearings.
The same optimal design characteristics that provide longer life operation on the HPS series are also key to the higher speed operation of the bearings; permissible speed being increased by 15 – 20% compared to conventional angular contact ball bearings. What this increase means for the HPS user is higher speed operation of industrial machinery, with the consequent benefit of greatly improved working efficiency.
The efficiency of NSK’s new design means that the improved higher speed capability of the HPS bearings is delivered at the same time as bearing accuracy is maximised. This is evidenced by a running accuracy to ISO tolerance class 5 and a dimensional accuracy to ISO tolerance class 6. HPS bearings are universally matchable in standard and their axial clearance range has been narrowed, which ensures accurate positioning of shafts. As a result, assembly and maintenance of industrial machinery becomes easier, and the efficiency of machinery is also improved.
Complementing the many features of the HPS series as a performance enhancer is a choice of three cage materials. This option helps the HPS user to cater for different performance demands. It also provides a major benefit in enabling the majority of machinery/equipment bearing requirements to be satisfied quickly and effectively from one bearing range.
The choice of cage materials includes: glass-fibre reinforced polyamide 46, which offers high strength at high temperatures; linear polyphenylene sulphide (L-PPS) resin, which offers superior oil and chemical resistance; and copper alloy, which offers high reliability.
HPS BEARING SERIES
In addition to angular contact bearings, NSK’s HPS™ bearing series also includes innovative spherical roller bearings (SRB). These bearings offer high performance with twice the running life compared to conventional SRB of the same size; and a maximum limiting running speed that has been improved by up to 20 %. The HPS™ series provides significant benefits across major industry sectors such as extraction, steel, construction and transport, by reducing maintenance and energy costs, and enabling product downsizing.