Industrial Factory Automation

Schaeffler is now offering both acoustic emission and vibration-monitoring products. These products cater for every maintenance scenario and all types of rotating equipment, from high-speed rotating components or machines, down to slower-moving (0.25rpm) mechanical systems with fluctuating loads. Schaeffler provides three main types of condition-monitoring systems: handheld monitoring; fixed/online monitoring; and semi-portable, multi-channel acoustic-emission monitoring. Schaeffler is now offering the AE-Check handheld acoustic-emission monitoring unit in addition to its FAG Detector III range of handheld vibration-monitoring devices. AE-Check is ideal for monitoring the condition of slow rotating, variable speed and load machinery and components, including mixers, motors, pumps, fans, HVAC systems, bearings and helical gears. Acoustic-emission monitoring equipment has a high sensitivity to machine faults and filters out audible noise and low-frequency background vibration. Acoustic ...

Schaeffler has provided tips and guidance for engineers on how to select the most appropriate rolling bearings for their application requirements. Rolling bearings are critical components in rotating machinery, production systems and vehicles. Mechanical design engineers often have to specify and select suitable rolling bearings. Even simple shaft systems subjected to radial and axial loads running at defined speeds can still place large demands on the rolling bearings. The adjacent housing, for example, influences the shaft and the design of the bearings. Other factors, such as temperature or sealing requirements, are also important. The designer therefore has to find an appropriate method of supporting the shaft by using rolling bearings in such a way that the loads involved, the speeds required, the adjacent construction and environmental conditions, are all taken into account in order to ensure a reliably functioning shaft system. In some cases, the designer may be able to use his...

Working with Pelamis wave power, Schaeffler has enabled a breakthrough in the design of the next generation of renewable wave-energy converters. The 'P2' design is said to be more efficient and cost effective than its predecessors. The main tube structures are connected by the main bearings units, which use a combination of Schaeffler bearings, and there are four hydraulic rams at each main joint, pivoting on precision bearing arrangements. Key to the success of the joint concept was a low-friction material designed and developed by Schaeffler. This modified PTFE fabric liner is part of the Elgoglide range, with low-friction characteristics that have effectively eliminated 'stick slip'. This has allowed the operating envelope of the machine to be extended beyond the capabilities allowed by standard bearing materials, according to the company.

A 1,100-page technical compendium on large-size bearings is now available from Schaeffler (UK). Catalogue GL1 provides original equipment manufacturers, distributors and end users with an overview of the range of large-size bearings available from Schaeffler for heavy machinery and equipment. The catalogue provides technical information on more than 10,000 bearings under the INA and FAG brands with outside diameters (ODs) of up to 2,800mm. It is designed to complement the company's existing HR1 rolling-bearings catalogue, which includes rolling bearings with ODs of up to 1,300mm. The new catalogue also contains bearing accessories, special rolling bearings, spherical plain bearings and bearing housings. Schaeffler's INA- and FAG-branded large-size bearings are suitable for heavy industry applications, including steel, paper, mining and mineral processing, industrial power transmission, wind turbines, rail, production machinery and the energy sector. In most of these industries...

HMK has teamed up with Schaeffler UK to incorporate Schaeffler's INA range of mechanical actuators and driven linear units into HMK's portfolio for the machine building and factory automation markets. For customers, the partnership brings together the bearings knowledge and mechanical engineering expertise of Schaeffler with the systems integration, automation and electro-mechanical expertise of HMK. HMK's application engineers design, build and commission complete automation systems for OEM machine builders, systems integrators and blue-chip end users, across a range of sectors, including food and beverage, life sciences, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, utilities, quarries and aggregates, plastics and rubber, aerospace and entertainment. HMK's service covers all aspects of electro-mechanical motion control solutions, from consultancy and product supply supported by software development, through to the test and commissioning of complex, engineered pro...