Combating Contamination

Bearings are subject to attack by many destructive agents, and one of the most difficult to defend against is water – the cause of corrosion and oil leakage. A product that’s designed to combat the effects of water, and other contaminants such as dust, will therefore be welcome news to many.

NSK’s Molded-Oil™ Bearings are precisely that: a bearing which is designed not only to provide superior resistance to corrosion, compared to standard cast iron units, but to minimise oil leakage and eliminate refilling, too. With applications in industries ranging from agriculture to food processing, they’re products which will reduce total cost of ownership by removing the downtime associated with relubrication intervals, and save money through a reduced requirements for replacement bearings and bearing lubricants.

How do they work?

Molded-Oil Bearings are lubricated with NSK’s own oil-impregnated material, which consists of lubricating oil and a polyolefin resin that has an affinity for oil. In contrast to other oil-impregnated plastics, where the oil content is a mere few percent by weight, Molded Oil permits a lubricating oil content of more than 50% by volume. Within the bearing, oil is released on demand from this material, providing ample lubrication over extended periods.

“In contrast to other oil-impregnated plastics, where the oil content is only a few percent by weight, Molded Oil permits an oil content of more than 50% by volume.”

The result is a bearing which offers a number of significant benefits. Their excellent performance in water- and dust-contaminated environments is just one of them. But they’re environmentally friendly, too. This is because oil lubrication quantity is controlled as it exudes from the polyolefin resin, thus minimising oil leakage.

In fact, tests show that these NSK bearings perform extremely well when exposed to water vapour - or even when submerged in liquid. Compared with grease-lubricated bearings, which could be operated for twenty days, those with Molded-Oil Bearings could be operated for 50 days or more! And that’s not all. With specially treated surfaces, and packed with Molded-Oil, the bearings allow very smooth rotation of rolling elements, while the optimisation of composition and molding method of the resin improves strength. Designed as “fit and forget” to enhance the performance of machinery and equipment in all types of environments, they’re the ideal solution for applications where the ingress of water, or other contaminants, are a major concern.