Mechanical Technology May 2016

⎪ Proactive maintenance, lubrication and contamination management ⎪

industry: a different approach

Above: The traditional wash down and relubrication cycle presents risks to both bearing service life and the environment. Left: In the food industry, for processing fish, for example, SKF has developed solutions that fulfil FDA and EC requirements. These bearings feature Re-lubrication free bearing technologies; high efficiency seals that keep lubricants in and contaminants out; and the use of corrosion resistant stainless steel materials.

There are different ways to meet these challenges. “At SKF we can offer more than the traditional lubrication man- agement approaches that look only at lubricants and the way to apply them. We can bring technologies that take away the need to re-lubricate, adding value from a food safety, cost, reliability or environmental perspective. What makes the difference is our deep knowledge of rotating equipment, industry experience and commitment to reduce costs of own- ership,” Backer concludes. q

and lubrication routines in or- der to: apply correct amounts

of lubricant at correct intervals, either manually or through automatic dis- pensing systems; use correct tools that allow correct methods to be followed; and set up an appropriate training programme for maintenance technicians and operators.  • SKF can also offer smart ways to detect poor lubrication condition by analysing vibration data through ‘vibration parameters’.

wastewater stream or disposed of using grease cleaning wipes. At the starting point, operators should proactively assess costs, risks, opportuni- ties and benefits of managing lubrication as a broad strategy. At SKF, we have found that a techni- cal assessment of a production process provides the structure to readily identify potential issues, risks, opportunities and benefits in moving from current ap- proaches. And the good news is that it does not require much time and from the assessment results, it is usually easy to plan short, medium and long-term activities. Identification of potential negative im- pacts on HACCP can lead to areas for improvement where SKF offers a range of technology and service offerings dedi- cated to helping to manage lubrication. These cover for example • Re-lubrication free bearing technolo- gies. • High efficiency seals that keep lubri- cants in and contaminants out. • Lubrication management: we can re- view and optimise lubrication strategy Challenge the ‘always done it this way’ attitude

SKF’s new Food Line family T he SKF Food Line family includes 19 different standard sizes of deep groove ball bearings from SKF’s ex- tensive range, in diameters ranging from 8.0 to 40 mm. “Both the blue seal and the lubricant were developed for use in food and beverage applications,” says David Oliver, SKF Europe industry manager Food and Beverage. “The overall bearing meets the highest standards of food management systems and regula- tions. This offer is unique to SKF, none of our competitors can offer the full package of food grade grease, plus FDA and EC approved blue coloured sealing in their stainless steel deep groove ball bearings.” Food safety management systems such as HACCP are placing greater importance on

safe food production. This means that com- ponents used in production should be either food-safe or detectable. Many food product recalls are initiated due to the possible presence of hard or sharp objects so food safety and detectability are high priorities for any components operating close to the food stream. The same is true of lubricants. For this reason, food-grade lubricants are increasingly used on a plant-wide basis to prevent the chance of applying non-food greases to a critical part. SKF’s stainless steel deep groove ball bearings offer high resistance to corrosion, so that they can withstand the aggressive wash down regimes that are necessary in the food industry. The special seal enhances this, helping to retain lubricant and prevent ingress of wash down fluid. q

Mechanical Technology — May 2016

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