SET The BALL ROLLING!

Rising demand for high-performance bearings has resulted in manufacturers integrating advanced technology in their products. Equipment Times find the latest trends, product ranges, market expansion plans, opportunities, future and challenges in the Bearings industry.

Bearings are virtually used in every kind of equipment or machinery, ranging from automobile parts, farm equipment, and household appliances to defense and aerospace equipment. This factor is projected to drive the market in near future. There has been a rising demand for bearings with lower maintenance requirements, higher efficiency, and longer service life.

Bearings not only reduce friction but also play a key role in transmitting energy to a few rotating parts and supporting load-bearing features of various mechanical devices. The growing demand for specialized solutions to meet industry-specific needs, such as gas meters, aircraft support systems, and medical imaging equipment, will create significant growth potential for bearings.

Moreover, a rise in demand for specialized bearing solutions that meet different industry-specific requirements and challenges is projected to boost the market. For instance, the rising application of high-capacity products in wind turbines is expected to catapult the demand. Wind turbines utilize these products to enhance turbine performance & reliability, increase energy production, and reduce lubricant consumption.

Manufacturers constantly work on improving the product designs to increase performance and energy efficiency. They use a special material for raceways, cages, and rolling elements as well as redesigned raceway profiles. Furthermore, technological advancements in seal and lubrication technologies and the use of lightweight materials in high-performance products are generating huge prospects for the manufacturers. Integration of electro-mechanical features directly into the bearings helps in performance improvement and reductions in size and cost.

Rising demand for high-performance bearings has resulted in manufacturers integrating advanced sensor units in their products. The sensor units assist in digital monitoring of axial movement, deceleration, acceleration, rotation speed, and load-carrying capacity of the product. Additionally, the advent of the Agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) has encouraged the adoption and constant monitoring of connected equipment and machinery. This trend has also influenced the market positively.

A few key suppliers have started providing smart bearings, whose conditions can be constantly monitored to predict faults before they occur. The adoption of smart bearings is still in the nascent stage. Several other major manufacturers are likely to offer smart bearings in their portfolios in near future. As it is easy to predict the faults in smart bearings before they occur, they add considerable value by reducing the cost of unexpected downtime, which is projected to surge the espousal of these products during the forecast period.

Types of bearings for Off-Highway applications…

• Tapered roller bearings are another popular off-highway choice, as they offer the best combination of radial and axial load capacity. In addition, they provide dimensional stability under heavy loads being perfect for off-highway performance. They have a long life in harsh and contaminated conditions. Generally they are used for heavy-duty and moderate speed applications.
• Ball bearings can support moderate radial loads and moderate axial loads (parallel to the shaft). They can operate at high speeds. Ball bearings with shields or seals for protection can be lubricated to last for the operating life.
• Roller bearings have high-radial load capacity in comparison to ball bearings. They operate at moderate to high speeds. The lubrication method must be carefully considered during the design phase when using roller bearings.
• Rod ends consist of a spherical ball mounted in a housing, typically with male or female threads. They allow for oscillation/misalignment during slow rotation. Some rod end types require lubrication; other types are maintenance-free.
• Bushings, or plain bearings, operate with sliding motion between the moving surfaces. Bushings are selected based on the velocity and the applied load. Maintenance-free bushings do not require additional lubrication to operate.
• Mounted bearings (pillow block bearings, flange bearing units and take-up bearings) are available in a variety of materials, mounting configurations and with various types of insert bearings. Each mounted unit acts as a system to position the bearing securely for reliable operation.

Leaders speak…

Harsha Kadam, MD & CEO – Schaeffler India & President, Industrial Business, says, “We have a strong production base and are working to further expand our portfolio in India. Our expertise in core engineering fields and renewable energy sector gives us an edge in the market. We have recently added bearing refurbishment services to our product value chain through the inauguration of refurbishment center in Jamshedpur which is also a step forward towards our pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040. Our success saga is evident at our very foundation with a clear focus to enable sustainable mobility and motion through innovation, agility, and efficiency. ”

Sanjeev Taparia, Sr. Vice President- Sales and Marketing, NBC Bearings, said, “The widespread adoption of condition monitoring technologies such as vibration analysis is a testament to the early adopters who pioneered their use within the industry. These technologies transformed the way we think about maintenance by providing users the ability to determine the health of an asset without interfering with its operation. The industrial internet of things (IIoT), coupled with declining sensor costs, has further accelerated the use of these technologies and enabled remote monitoring of real-time data, automated analysis, and instantaneous alerts. In some applications, traditional bearings simply don’t have enough hardness and dimensional stability to withstand the constant wear and impact required of them. Hydraulic valves, high-load bearings, and high-temperature conditions are among these uses. The bearings used in applications such as these simply had to be replaced periodically. Now, though, thanks to innovations in extremely hard metals such as tungsten carbide, bearings used in torturous applications can still have a remarkably long fatigue life.”

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