Mechanical Technology January 2016

Mechanical Technology — January 2016

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Power transmission, bearings, bushes and seals

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KF has been developing ad-

vanced solutions to customers

operating across industry since

1907. The company utilises its

vast experience and industry insight to

continuously produce new technologies,

which deliver competitive advantages to

customers, such as improved productivity

and sustainability.

This experience and expertise has

established SKF as an industry leader

in product design and development.

“We attribute this to a forward thinking

culture and a commitment to delivering

cutting-edge solutions that meet the

needs of customers, including bearings

and units, seals, mechatronics, services

and lubrication systems. We call this

Innovative solutions for

powering the future

Bernd Stephan, senior vice president of

group technology development at SKF.

SKF’s Generalised Bearing Life

Model takes into account the fact

that modern bearings generally fail as a result of surface

damage caused by such factors as contamination, inad-

equate lubrication, surface distress and wear.

Following Hannover 2015 and the publication of SKF’s ‘Power the Future’

report, this article presents a selection of SKF’s leading products and smart

innovations to boost mobility and connectivity.

SKF Knowledge Engineering and it is

this approach that will power the future

of industry,” says Bernd Stephan, senior

vice president of group technology devel-

opment at SKF.

Innovative new bearing rating life

model

SKF has launched the SKF Generalised

Bearing Life Model, a pioneering new

rating life model for bearings that is

specifically designed to help engineers

to calculate a more realistic bearing life

by considering more influencing factors

than before. The new model is a major

step forward for the industry and will play

a vital role in enabling OEMs and end

users to match bearings and application

conditions with even greater certainty,

resulting in improved machine life and

reduced operating costs.

Developed as part of the SKF EnCom

pass Field Performance Programme, the

new bearing rating life model will enable

original equipment designers and end

users to more closely match bearings to

actual application conditions, therefore

further optimising bearing performance.

The current bearing life model calcula-

tion is primarily based on damage below

the bearing’s surface. However, SKF’s

experience over a number of decades has

confirmed that today’s high quality bear-

ings rarely fail because of sub-surface

damage from inadequate load capacity.

They generally fail as a result of surface

damage caused by such factors as

contamination, inadequate lubrication,

surface distress and wear. The new model

takes all of these factors into account.

Power the future and SKF’s new

report

In partnership with industrial technology

experts and academics from all over the

world, SKF has released a new thought

leadership report focusing on the future

of manufacturing and engineering. The

document, entitled ‘Power the Future’,

features contributions by specialists from

within SKF and leading external authori-

ties. It focuses on current and emerging

trends in engineering technology and

processes and outlines how the factory,

machinery and the workforce will evolve

in the near future.

‘Power the Future’ will enable engi-

neers and students to develop a greater

knowledge of the main areas of interest

that are predicted to become increasingly

prevalent to future technology develop-

ments in a variety of key global industrial

segments.

SKF smart innovations boost

mobility and connectivity

At last year ’s Hannover Fair, SKF

launched a variety of new product inno-

vations to boost mobility and connectivity

in industrial applications. These include

SKF Enlight, TKSA 51 and SKF Insight.

SKF Enlight is a package that com-

bines a powerful new mobile app with

a special Bluetooth-enabled sensor. It

allows non-expert staff to gather expert

data such as vibration and temperature

information, using standard mobile de-

vices on demand.

The package features three main

elements: a mobile app entitled Data

Collect, which turns a standard mobile

device such as a smartphone or tablet

into a data collection device; the SKF

Wireless Machine Condition Detector

(WMCD), which is a special sensor that

measures vibration and temperature

data and relays it to Data Collect via

Bluetooth; and, if appropriate, rug-

gedised Atex Zone 1-compliant tablets

and smartphones to enable users to

collect data in hazardous industries such