The customer was experiencing failures every 4 – 6 weeks with ball bearing inserts on a food production conveyor line. Regular high pressure wash-downs led to corrosion, seal damage and grease wash-out from the bearings, resulting in regular maintenance and production downtime. NSK reviewed the bearing application and were able to recommend NSK Life-Lube® as a solution. Trial bearings were purchased and applied. This resulted in significant improvements in bearing life with no failures during the trial period. This solution increased reliability and reduced unplanned downtime resulting in a large cost saving.
| Before | Cost p.a. | NSK Solution | Cost p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular bearing failures every 4-5 weeks on two key process lines. Annual bearing costs: €922 per line × 2 |
€1.844 | No bearing failures in 12 months, resulting in inventory reduction. €533 per line × 2 |
€1.066 | |
| Maintenance costs per line, including re-lubrication, labour, overheads: €1.644 per line × 2 |
€3.288 | No re-lubrication needed, reduced labour costs |
€0 | |
| Lost production downtime (12×/year). €32.880 per line × 2 |
€65.760 | No production lost to unplanned downtime |
€0 | |
| Total Costs | € 70 892 | € 1 066 | ||
Reference:SS-E-2003
