MechChem Africa January-February 2022

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Bolt and Engineering champions pivotal role of fasteners he says. Speaking to B.E.D.’s aim to pro- actively engage and educate customers about the important role that fasteners play across industry, Giltrow implores the market to understand that while bolts and nuts may often be perceived only to form part of the basics in a project, they are invaluable and should therefore receive serious attention.

Bolt and Engineering Distributors Group (B.E.D.) stands fast in the conviction that product supply, complemented by the associated, extensive knowledge, are powerful elements required to create the perfect ‘fit’. “Since the B.E.D. Group’s establishment in 1983, we have offered customers a vast pool of knowledge and experience in the supply of fasteners,” says Group CEO Mike Giltrow. “Aligned with B.E.D.’s strong guiding principle of ‘it’s our business to know your business’, we not only invest our time, but proactively share our experience and knowledge through relevant and infor- mative product demonstrations, on-site training, and technical consultations by our local and international suppl iers,” SKF has extended its range of large bearings for roller presses with a sealed version that prolongs service life. Its Explorer spherical roller bearings (SRBs) in the 241 series are now available in up to 1 250 mm bore sizes. The sizes in this series are commonly used in high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) in cement and mining industries. “Using sealed bearings is the best way to increase mean time between failures,” says Daniel Ortega, product line manager for Sealed SRBs at SKF. “It is a long-term invest- ment that increases machine availability and reliability.” The new version – which is sealed on both sides – offers up to double the lifetime of an open bearing and has shown in tests to reduce grease consumption up to 99%. In a high-pressure grinding roll, four large spheri- cal roller bearings are usually used. During a maintenance interval of three months, normally 540 kg of grease is used for certain sizes. With SKF sealed Explorer spherical roller bearings, only7.0kgof grease is needed across the same interval, which reduces costs

quest is taken simply at face value, but is supported by a dedicated and genuine interest in the fastener application and end-use, taking potential wear conditions, corrosion, rust, water moisture and dust ingress into account. Di f ferent iat ing the B.E.D. Group’ s supply of fasteners is its support of local manufacturers; by drawing on local sup- ply, B.E.D.’s customers can be assured of benefits such as faster supply and delivery at more competitive prices. “South Africa’s local fastener industry has the ability to produce fasteners just as effectively – and to the right quality and specifications – as its international counterparts,” Giltrow assures. bolteng.co.za bolted to the bearing’s outer ring. The sealed bearing can be used on its own or as part of an SKF three-barrier solu- tion. Typical end-use applications include the mining, minerals processing and cement industries. Roller press bearings often wear out be- cause ineffective sealing leads to lubricant contamination. Sealed bearings overcome this problem – and this delivers several advantages. • Bearing failure relates to more main- tenance interventions, which carry a higher risk of accident, injury and expen- sive shutdowns. Sealedbearings prolong service life. • The new design offers a maintenance benefit. Rather thanstoppingproduction for preventivemaintenance of the bear- ing, the wear of the roller press roller determines when a service is needed. • Explorer SRBs in the241 series areavail- able with short delivery times – even in the largest sizes. www.skf.com brings a wealth of experience to the Group with 25 years across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, theUKandUSA. Rileyknows the positive impact of industrialisation in Africa and understands the roles the technologies and expertise within the Bosch Rexroth SA Group have to play in driving Africa forward. He looks forward to being part of this process. www.boschrexroth.africa

As fasteners are avai lable in a vast range of specifications, important fac- tors to consider for best performance include: dimensions, material, size, thread specifications, strength, clamping force, diameter, finishes, securing and tightening methods and torque, among others. As a good understanding of all these elements is essent ial , no order or re-

Large sealed Explorer SRBs reduce grease consumption by 99%

New version large SKF Explorer SRBs with seals on both sides.

and environmental impact. In addition, the sealed SRB can be re- manufactured twice, which further extends service life. This raises productivity and machine availabilitywhile lowering total cost of ownership. The new bearing has been redesigned to haveahigher load-carrying capacity. Bearings with a bore-diameter below 1 000 mm have an HNBR seal that is retained by a snap ring. Larger bearings use a G-ECOPUR seal that is

Bosch Rexroth SA appoints new CEO

The Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group of Companies has appointed Chris Riley as the newGroupCEO. Inaddition to this role, Chris has been appointed as the Bosch Rexroth Group Leader of Sales for Africa. Riley suc- ceeds Tillmann Olsen, who has been at the helmof theGroup since January 2018.

Chris Riley holds a BSc Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Business Degree. He

36 ¦ MechChem Africa • January-February 2022