Application: Dip Tank Conveyor Nose Roller

A large producer of chewing gum and sweet products was experiencing repeated bearing failures on their Dip Tank Conveyor Nose Roller. The customer was changing bearings approximately every 7 weeks which involved high maintenance costs and regular unplanned machine down time. NSK investigated this problem and discovered the bearing Arrangement comprised three Deep Groove Ball Bearing Units assembled together flush, one set each side of the roller. The bearings were not designed to operate in this type of arrangement as they did not share the load and were also affected by axial preload. NSK proposed placing a spacer between each bearing to separate them to aviod axial loading. A trial was initiated which resulted in an immediate improvement and significant lifetime extension.