How To Store Bearings

Imagine, your production line is running at full capacity and there’s a loud BANG! Everything grinds to a halt - one of the bearings has disintegrated. Your machinery has to be stripped down and the bearing replaced. “How long to get us back up and running”, I hear you ask, as you frantically work out the cost of a long period of downtime.

It’s an all too common occurrence and one which could be reduced by following basic guidelines for storing bearings. How bearings are stored can have an adverse effect on their performance.

So, what can you do to minimise machinery breakdowns and downtimes? The first thing you should do is get your storage area organised properly. With a few basic housekeeping practices you

’ll maximise the service life of your bearings - reducing  machinery downtime and saving untold costs in lost production.  You can achieve this by:

• Storing bearings flat, in a vibration-free environment.
• Ensuring the area is dry and has a cool steady temperature without any drafts to avoid condensation.
• Getting humidity under control: 75% at 20°C, 60% at 22°C and 50% at 25°C
• Leaving bearings in their original packaging until the moment of use to prevent contaminants from entering the bearing.
• Setting up a ‘first in first out’ stock rotation policy, to ensure bearings aren’t stored for long periods of time (Different types of bearings may have a different shelf life. Always read the manufacturer’s guidelines)

Now you’re successfully storing bearings correctly, maximising their service life and ensuring your company’s machinery works more efficiently.

Finally, to avoid quality and counterfeit issues, always buy bearings from an authorised bearing distributor. Acorn Industrial Services Ltd is an authorised distributor for SKF - World leaders in bearing manufacture.

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If you have a question about bearing storage, give Acorn’s bearing product manager Clive Simkins a call on: 01709 789 999.

 

 

 

 

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