How to Make Pump Bearings Last Longer

The initial cost of a pump is a fraction of its total life cycle cost. The dollars add up with maintenance and operating expenses, which are the key areas to tackle when looking to cut costs. Progressive, proactive maintenance is vital to maximize pump life, minimize downtime and avoid expensive repairs and lost production.

Pump Lifecycle Costs

An excellent way to reduce typical pump maintenance costs is to replace bearings at the next maintenance interval with superior bearings.

Qualities of Superior Bearings:

Steel and Heat Treatment

The physical and mechanical properties of steel are critical in rolling element bearings.  Bearing steel rolling fatigue life is significantly affected by non-metallic inclusions, typically of silicon, aluminum and sulfur. High purity, homogenous 52100 steel significantly increases bearing life and reliability compared with conventional 52100 steels. In addition, heat treatment increases steel’s resistance to wear and extends bearing life under even the most adverse conditions.

Ring and Rolling Element Design

Advanced geometric ring and rolling element designs deliver stable, smooth operation; minimize potential for ball skidding under transient/alternating or no load conditions; and provide axial stiffness and strength. External geometric features can improve bearing installation and mounted bearing stability.

Surface Finish

Rolling element bearing surface finish and precision can reduce friction and extend life while providing smooth operation. Newly developed processes improve the topography of bearing raceways and balls, increase the load-bearing area of the surfaces separated by the oil film and reduce the micro hertzian pressures in the contact area.

Cage Design

The mechanical construction of advanced machined brass cage designs provides rigidity and strength. An advanced cage design will handle harsh and adverse conditions, heavy alternating loads and contaminated or thin film lubrication conditions. Machined brass cage ball pockets deliver contact interface through a precise pocket contour, allowing improved lubrication under thin oil film conditions and superior load distribution.

Properly selecting and maintaining bearings in pump applications significantly enhances bearing life while reducing the costs associated with unscheduled downtime, replacement and maintenance. For more detailed information about NSK’s innovative bearing technologies and engineering expertise which maximize uptime in pump applications, read the full article HERE, contact an NSK representative or visit www.thinknsk.com.

Excerpt from article by Mike Petrashko, Manager, Light Industry Group at NSK Corporation.