Innovative bearings help textile industry see off cheap imports
High speed oscillatory movements, hot contaminated atmospheres, and long operating hours are the stuff of machine builders' nightmares. But Jesa Bearings has overcome all of these with the latest bespoke running elements for textile machinery.
With the impact of low cost imports from the Far East, textile manufacturers have found themselves facing extreme competition. This has driven a need to boost productivity to new levels in the manufacturing environment, optimising efficiency and minimising downtime.
Managing director of Jesa Bearings, Roger Cornwell, said: "The need for maximum operational life and minimum machinery downtime in the textiles industry places extreme demands on the bearings."
This puts pressure on the machinery to operate reliably in the most challenging of environments. In particular, the demands on bearings of all types around textile machinery can be extreme. The environment is often hot and susceptible to contamination, straining the bearing assembly as it strives to keep debris out and lubricant in.
The operation of machinery is characterised by oscillating, high speed and high load running which places additional stresses on the bearing components. Yet against this background, long life is a must, to ensure maximum machine efficiency.
"We were able to address this," says Cornwell. "The result is a bearing assembly which makes the most of the unusual space envelope, delivering a cost-effective solution which is easy to integrate, reliable over the longer term, and which provides consistent, accurate performance."
Jesa's solution was a bespoke bearing design with 'super finished' bearing tracks. The design incorporates an innovative sealing arrangement, combining external shields with low friction labyrinth seals and a double sealing system.
Special profiles were developed, combining steel with synthetic materials to ensure improved reliability. The highest quality lubricants were used in order to ensure long term efficient operation, and particular attention was paid to making re-lubrication a quick and simple operation.
Jesa also went a step further by developing a complete sub-assembly. This was key to delivering optimised performance and allowing easy integration into textile production machinery.
