(August 29, 2011)
Lucky Houndalas, manager of Bearing Services Bethal, one of SKF South Africa's leading authorised distributors, who was on a recent visit to a leading South African mine, identified an opportunity in which this valuable customer was facing sealing issues on a 16 ton shuttle car application.
After inspection of the application and discussions with the mine personnel, it was agreed that inadequate sealing performance was the main cause for the expensive and time consuming shaft component replacement. "SKF Speedi Sleeve® was the simple solution offered that yielded great results", according to Giscard Lailvaux, SKF Mechanical Services Manager.
"The shuttle car, which uses a reducer gearbox, operates in an aggressive environment. Excess contaminant entering the gearbox can cause premature gearbox failure and unsatisfactory application performance," explains Lailvaux. "Bearings and mating components had to be changed out regularly due to the contaminant entering the gearbox oil. This would find its way into the bearings, thus causing a reduction in the bearing service life. Our customer was faced with not only the high costs of having to constantly replace the components, but also with regular unplanned downtime. Lucky Houndalas came up with a simple and cost effective solution - the SKF Speedi-Sleeve®. As soon as the shaft is worn, a Speedi Sleeve® is simply slipped over the worn shaft and underneath the seating of the seal lip. The seal clamps down on the Speedi Sleeve® and forms a new landing for the seal. Oil inside the gearbox stays clean and contamination is prevented from entering the components."
Discussing the benefits offered by the SKF Speedi Sleeve® solution, Lailvaux says that SKF, in partnership with its Authorised Distribution network, can illustrate how a simplistic solution can yield great results, and that the best solution is not always the most expensive or complicated: "We dramatically reduced time spent on maintenance activities, the cost of expensive replacement shaft components and avoidance of costs incurred as a result of unplanned downtime. As a consequence of this solution, the mine can increase the availability of maintenance personnel to focus on strategically maintaining other critical plant equipment".
"The excellent service delivery of Bearing Services Bethal, combined with SKF's superior quality product, succeeded in increasing this key customer's trust in SKF and its authorised distributor network and I am in no doubt that the mine will have no hesitation in approaching us for more complex SKF value offerings within our product and services platforms," concludes Lailvaux.
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