A North American wood processing facility that manufactures wood pallets was experiencing catastrophic bearing failures on their edger saw. These failures were causing extensive downtime, significant bearing replacement cost and lost production.

NTN’s engineering and sales support team ran a full diagnosis of the facility’s edger saw and determined that the bearings were only lasting an average of two months due to the high temperatures at which the application ran.

The NTN Solution

The NTN team recommended that the facility switch to NTN’s ULTAGE^® spherical roller bearings. Our ULTAGE^® line of spherical roller bearings offer industry-leading load capacity and speed ratings, as well as a design to ensure dimensional stability at temperatures as high as 390°F. Additionally, NTN’s team provided recommendations for proper installation of external seals to keep contamination out, as well as an improved lubrication plan for the bearings to reduce operating temperature.

The Result

Since the NTN ULTAGE^® spherical roller bearing has been installed, bearing operating temperature has decreased and stabilized, resulting in four times longer bearing life. The annual cost to operate the edger saw before the customer called NTN was over $331,000. Now, with the NTN ULTAGE^® spherical roller bearings, operating costs are just $63,480, saving the customer over $267,000 annually.

Value added breakdown

ULTAGE^® Spherical Roller Bearings

Combining premium-grade materials, optimized design and precision manufacturing, ULTAGE^® is the new generation of high-performance bearings from NTN that delivers unmatched service life, the highest limiting speeds and the best load capacities on the market to maximize the productivity of your equipment.

ULTAGE^® spherical roller bearings combine cutting-edge product research, premium-grade materials, and an optimized internal and external design to greatly extend bearing life. The result is greater profitability for our customers thanks to improved uptime and productivity.

• Made from premium-grade steel and larger rollers, ULTAGE^® SRBs provide a 65% increase in capacity compared to a conventional bearing, resulting in up to 5 times longer service life. In addition, ULTAGE^® SRBs provide up to 35% greater basic static load rating compared to conventional bearings.
• ULTAGE^® SRBs contain an optimized surface finish and incorporate high-performance, window-type pressed steel cage without the center guide ring for higher rigidity, stability, and better lubrication flow through the bearing. All these design features allows for a 20% higher limiting speeds when compared to conventional designs, reducing operating temperatures that extend lubrication intervals and keep production lines running longer.
• Our special heat treatment process allows for dimensional stability of the bearing up to 200°C (392°F) all while maintaining high hardness. The combination of high temperature stability and high hardness allows the bearing to achieve a longer life, thus reducing down time and increasing production.
• Manufactured in our state-of-the-art facilities which maintain consistently tighter tolerances through production, ULTAGE^® spherical roller bearings feature an optimized design that enables higher loads and faster rotational speeds. Besides allowing machines to run at maximum productivity, the improved design reduces heat generation for extended grease life and improved uptime, compared to conventional bearing designs.

Here to help you cut through downtime.

We’re here to help you achieve your productivity and performance goals. For more information, contact your NTN Sales Representative or call 1-888-412-4122. For technical questions, email techsupport@ntn.ca.