Pillow block inserts in conveyor belts for beverage bottling

igubal® spherical insert bearing

in the beverage and bottling industry

In a bottling plant in Brazil, conventional deep groove ball bearings made of metal were used in various conveyor belts. The deep groove ball bearings have to be relubricated every fortnight and serviced at regular intervals. Furthermore, corrosion on the shafts leads to additional failures.

To avoid these problems in future, 60 igubal® spherical insert bearings were used in the conveyor belt as a test. The standard spherical insert bearings for metal pillow block and flange bearings are injection moulded from our material iglidur® J. The spherical insert bearings are maintenance-free, require no lubrication and are also corrosion-free.

Results

The test results are clear: our igubal® spherical insert bearings were maintenance-free and wear-resistant over the entire test period. In addition, any edge loads that occurred could be absorbed very well.

With a maintenance time of 3 minutes per bearing, 24 times a year at 60 bearing points, a time saving of 72 hours was achieved. In addition, the costs for lubricants were completely eliminated and the brewery was able to save over 80 % on acquisition costs compared to metal bearings.

By installing a total of over 400 igus® bearing inserts on the conveyor belt, the customer was able to save over €23,000 per year.