Industrial Factory Automation

Baldor Electric has launched a Dodge-brand mounted ball bearing incorporating sealing and lubrication functions. Dodge Ultra Kleen ball bearings can extend equipment lifetimes in harsh, washdown-duty operating environments, such as food and beverage processing. They employ a 100 per cent stainless-steel bearing insert and feature a patented sealing system and a ball retainer that maintain lubrication and prevent washout in wet operating environments. The new sealing system, Quadquard, consists of two patented features: a triple lip seal and a rubberised flinger. The triple lip seal offers three points of contact, keeping the lubricant in and contaminants out. This design maximises sealing with a minimal amount of drag, according to the company. The rubberised flinger is a moulded nitrile rubber component that is bonded to the flinger surface, providing an additional barrier to contaminants. The rubber-baffled design on the external surface of the flinger enhances the removal of liq...

Simrit has developed a radial-shaft seal system featuring a leakage sensor that allows for telediagnosis of the shaft seal and automatically sends a signal when the seal's wear limit is reached. With the help of these intelligent shaft seals, Wittenstein alpha has maximised the service life and service intervals of its pitch gears for rotor adjustment. Pitch gears are key components in wind turbines around the world. They are used to adjust the pitch of the rotor blades, which in turn changes the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine. Thanks to pitch gears, wind turbines can be operated at the optimum pitch until the rated power of the generator is reached. If the maximum generator torque is exceeded, the speed is adjusted by changing the pitch of the rotor blades. If performance remains constant, pitch gears allow wind turbines to operate continually at the optimum operating point. One pitch gear per rotor blade is attached directly to the hub by screws. Wittenstein alpha has opt...