Without question, mining is a dirty job. Raw product is caked with enough dirt to give a mud wrestler a run for their money.
Mining requires heavy drilling, excavating, and crushing equipment to extract the raw product from the earth before transferring it by way of pump systems, pipelines, and conveyors for processing. The thick air, high-heat, humidity, moisture, dust and contaminants make the process arduous for mining equipment.
These harsh conditions are notoriously punishing on bearings, keeping miners and maintenance workers on their toes racing to install bearings solutions that will survive production and prevent downtime.
A failed bearing can hold up operations for days while the arrangement is disassembled, and a new bearing is installed. Furthermore, replacing bearings on a piece of mining equipment can incur significant maintenance costs to mining companies.
Capable bearing models that can truly demonstrate resilience against the demand conditions of mining environments are few and far between, but they certainly exist.
Fortunately, the team at Motion Australia have done the legwork through testing and analysis to get a handle on the strongest bearings solutions for mining applications. And time and time again, the Timken Solid-Block housed units have proven they are up to the challenge.
The Timken Solid-Block preassembled units consist of spherical bearing with two rows of roller balls and a black oxidised inner ring, that are fitted in an impenetrable cast steel housing at the factory.
According to Sinisa Petkovic, key account executive and resident engineering expert at Motion Australia, having the internal clearance of the bearing pre-set is more than half the battle for fitting and installation.
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