Bearings help textile industry see off cheap imports

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. This puts extreme 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 to the maximum as it strives to keep debris out and lubricant in. At the same time, the operation of the machinery itself 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. It was to address these issues that Jesa Bearings was asked to design an improved bearing assembly. Jesa is a specialist bearing manufacturer that focuses on meeting individual project needs with a bespoke package, delivering significant cost and performance advantages particularly in challenging markets. Delivering the benefits of Swiss precision design, Jesa has a broad experience and an unrivalled track record in critical areas such as the automotive industry, textiles, conveying, packaging, medical appliances and white goods. 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. Rather than simply supplying the bearing, Jesa 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.