Split Spherical Roller Bearings Reduce Machinery Maintenance Costs

A Spanish automaker significantly reduced maintenance costs and minimized downtime at its car body washing facility by replacing solid spherical roller bearings on the body washer conveyor drive unit with Schaeffler's split spherical roller bearings and matching housings. This upgrade drastically cut the time required to replace damaged bearings.
 

The Spanish automaker-employing 11,000 people, generating approximately €4.8 billion in revenue, and producing around 400,000 vehicles annually-was facing challenges with its car body washing process. Car bodies must be washed prior to painting, and the harsh operating environment of the washer shortened the service life of the original solid spherical roller bearings installed on the conveyor's return unit. Replacing damaged bearings in the conveyor drive unit previously required halting production for at least four to five hours.

To minimize downtime, the customer asked Schaeffler to streamline the bearing replacement process. The most effective solution was to replace the original solid spherical roller bearings with Schaeffler's split spherical roller bearings and matching housings. Thanks to their unique split design, these bearings are much easier to install, significantly reducing replacement time-especially in hard-to-reach areas, such as shafts with multiple supports. During assembly, the inner ring, outer ring, and roller-and-cage assembly are split into two halves and clamped together with screws. The cylindrical bore allows for direct mounting onto the shaft; consequently, the bearings can handle higher thrust loads and dynamically compensate for any misalignment. Furthermore, the split design eliminates many steps in the mounting and dismounting processes, leading to a substantial reduction in downtime and associated costs.
 

In addition to reducing the time required for bearing replacement (dismounting and mounting), Schaeffler's split spherical roller bearings offer easier inventory management due to their modular design, as the same housing size can accommodate different shaft diameters. Typical applications for split spherical roller bearings include belt drives, papermaking machines, mixing and agitation equipment, conveying equipment, roller mills, converters, crushers, rotary kilns, fans, ventilators, and drive shafts.

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