ARTICLE
you scrap a component, you are not just throwing away the
material it is made from – but all its embedded energy and
carbon all the way back up the value chain. For this reason,
lengthening lifecycle is of huge benefit.
Within material handling, many lift manufacturers now
insist that components last the life of the product. This can
be achieved by specifying low-friction bearings-such as SKF
Explorer bearings.
SKF recently introduced a new range of small, sealed SKF
Explorer spherical roller bearings that can prolong – or even
eliminate – service intervals. Fitted in a gearless traction
motor in a heavy-duty elevator, it lowers energy consumption
by around 145kWh per year – equating to a CO2 emission
saving of two tonnes over the motor’s lifecycle. These cut
friction by as much as 20%, with a subsequent up to 20
degrees Celsius reduction in working temperature, extending
bearing life to match that of the lift system itself. This helps
deliver the ‘maintenance-free’ regime that is important to
lift manufacturers. The sealed SKF Explorer spherical roller
bearings form part of SKF’s Beyond Zero portfolio of products,
which are designed to impart real sustainable benefits in
their applications.
There are many examples of how sealed bearings extend the
service life of elevators: one Asian elevator manufacturer
switched its entire production to sealed SKF Explorer
spherical roller bearings, as a low-maintenance solution
that would last for at least 20 years. Similarly, a European
elevator manufacturer used them with adapter sleeves when
it needed a quickly mountable bearing on its first high-rise
gearless traction machine.
Handling baggage
There is no particular sector within material handling that
leads the way on embracing sustainability. Rather, there
are individual companies that are taking the lead. A good
example of this is Vanderlande, which has designed a baggage
handling system using a ‘Cradle to Cradle’ (C2C) approach. It
is an excellent illustration of a company developing a product
with sustainability in mind.
Its ‘Blueveyor’ system – which has been running at
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport since June 2014, consumes
around half the energy of a conventional baggage system.
C2C principles require the product to be fully recyclable at
the end of its life, meaning that SKF had to adapt its Y-bearing
unit slightly to accommodate this. It meant removing all
polymer from inside the seal, and lubricating the bearing
with biodegradable grease.
The bearings are used in belt conveyors on the handling line,
with four used on each conveyor. Vanderlande specified
the C2C guidelines to SKF, which was then responsible for
developing the bearing solution based on this approach. The
two companies have worked together extensively in the past,
and SKF has a similarly progressive attitude to sustainability
as Vanderlande.
Engineers love a challenge and there is none greater than
helping to protect the planet and create a more sustainable
future for all. Ultimately it is the role of engineers in projects
like those demonstrated earlier, that will be crucial in helping
to arrest the effects of climate change.
www.skf.com
may 2018 Global MDA Journal
21