SNS plummer block housing increases bearing operating life by 50 percent

The new FAG SNS plummer block housing from Schaeffler increases the operating life of the fitted spherical roller bearings by up to 50 percent compared to conventional plummer block housings. This is made possible by the new housing design, which ensures optimum load distribution in the bearing. Further design optimizations facilitate mounting and dismounting, improve condition monitoring and operation, and thus allow the housing and bearing to be used in a particularly flexible and cost-effective manner while significantly reducing the lifecycle costs. The new FAG plummer block housing can also be installed as a 1-to-1 replacement for numerous conventional housings.

Housing design minimizes bearing load
The newly-developed and patented design of the FAG SNS plummer block housing distributes the bearing load, which is transferred by the rolling elements to the housing support via the outer ring, over two symmetrically-arranged support surfaces. This makes a positive change to the load distribution in the bearing and means that the bearing is subjected to a smaller overall load. Other performance characteristics such as rupture loads are not negatively affected. The operating life of the bearing is thus increased by up to 50 percent, as the distribution of the individual rolling element loads has an essential influence on the fatigue life that the rolling bearings can achieve. The prerequisite for the optimized design was the analysis of the bearing and housing as a complete system. It was thus possible to take the influence of the housing design on the load in the bearing into consideration and to make the corresponding optimizations.

Design improvements make operation easier and reduce lifecycle costs
Numerous other details of the new housing design make lubrication, mounting, and condition monitoring much easier and thus contribute to a reduction of the lifecycle costs (total cost of ownership) in addition to significantly increasing the operating life. A lubrication bore with a long lubrication groove has been integrated into the inside of the upper section of the housing, so the bearings from different series that are installed in each bearing position can be optimally supplied with lubricant. The lower section of the housing still contains grease outlet bores that allow the removal of the used and superfluous grease when grease relubrication is carried out.

Connections for an FAG SmartCheck are provided on both sides as standard in order to allow better condition monitoring for the bearings. A centering mark in the upper section of the housing indicates the optimum connection position for condition monitoring if these two connections for the FAG SmartCheck are not accessible. In addition, the FAG GreaseCheck grease sensor for the online condition monitoring of lubricating grease is also available from Schaeffler. The new SNS plummer block housing can be prepared for use with this grease sensor without any problems.

To make mounting especially easy, centering marks that indicate the center line of the bearing and shaft are provided in the lower section of the housing to allow fast alignment of the housing. The lower section of the housing also features precise locating surfaces that are reworked by machine. These are raised and thus allow the use of ledges to achieve precise alignment. Once it has been aligned, the housing can be quickly replaced if required.

Flexible and cost-effective use in a wide range of applications
Bevels, small surfaces, and an upper housing section that covers the lower housing section eliminate collection points for fluid and contamination, ensure that fluid drains off, and reduce the cleaning outlay required. A wide range of different seals is also available which make operation possible in harsh conditions such as in the extraction and processing of raw materials. The new SNS housing is manufactured from high-quality spheroidal graphite cast iron as standard and thus ensures a high level of operational reliability.

Rolling bearings of several different diameters and widths can be installed in the new SNS plummer block housing. The bearings are movable and thus function as non-locating bearings. Suitable bearings include the 222, 223, 230, 231, 232, and 240 series. The new FAG SNS series of plummer block housings can be used as a replacement for a wide range of conventional housings.

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