The Solution Helped Prevent Premature Bearing Failure And Maintain Production Saving The Site Over R21 Million Per Koepe Winder
Application
Koepe winder bearings in underground copper mining. Bearings were replaced every 4 years and downtime to replace was 7 days.
Identify
Koepe Winder main bearing failures was experienced due to lubricant starvation, manual lubrication and incorrect grease type which was causing pitting in the inner and outer races of these bearings. A proposal was submitted to the mine to use a high performance grease.
Agree
The grease was changed to Tribol 4020-460-2 which contained TGOA and an automated lubrication system was introduced to ensure proper lubrication on the inner and outer races, mitigating the risk of micro pitting.
Deliver
The bearing life was extended to twice the previous life. Labour required for the manual application was eliminated and cost avoidance achieved for not having to change out bearings.
