Page 7 - SKF_Maintenance_and_Lubrication_Products

Main causes of premature bearing failures

Poor fitting

16% Around 16% of all premature bearing failures are caused by poor fitting

(usually brute force...) and maintenance personnel being unaware of the
availability of the correct fitting tools. Individual installations may require
mechanical, hydraulic or heat application methods for correct and efficient
mounting or dismounting. SKF offers a complete range of tools and equipment to make these
tasks easier, quicker and more cost effective, backed up by a wealth of service engineering know-
how. Professional fitting, using specialised tools and techniques, is another positive step towards
achieving maximum machine uptime.

Poor lubrication
36%
Although ‘sealed-for-life’ bearings can be fitted and forgotten, some 36%
of premature bearing failures are caused by incorrect specification and
inadequate application of the lubricant. Inevitably, any bearing deprived
of proper lubrication will fail long before its normal service life. Because bearings are usually
the least accessible components of machinery, neglected lubrication frequently compounds the
problem. Wherever manual maintenance is not feasible, fully automatic lubrication systems can
be specified by SKF for optimum lubrication. Effective lubrication and using only recommended
SKF greases, tools and techniques helps to significantly reduce downtime.

Contamination

14% A bearing is a precision component that will not operate efficiently unless

both the bearing and its lubricants are isolated from contamination. And,
since sealed-for-life bearings in ready-greased variants account for only a
small proportion of all bearings in use, at least 14% of all premature bearing
failures are attributed to contamination problems. SKF has an unrivalled bearing manufacturing
and design capability and can tailor sealing solutions for the most arduous operating
environments.

Fatigue

34% Whenever machines are overloaded, incorrectly serviced or neglected,
bearings suffer from the consequences, resulting in 34% of all premature
bearing failures. Sudden or unexpected failure can be avoided, since
neglected or overstressed bearings emit ‘early warning’ signals which can be
detected and interpreted using SKF condition monitoring equipment. The SKF range includes
hand-held instruments, hard-wired systems and data management software for periodic or
continuous monitoring of key operating parameters.

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