Sign that Your Bearings Might Be Failing

A machine with a failed bearing can be extremely frustrating and cause a major interruption to your day-to-day business operation. No matter how big or small your operation is, these slowdowns or shutdowns can cost you a lot of time and money that can have negative effects on your production schedule and your overall profit margin. Whether you have a small manufacturing shop or a large assembly line with international accounts, you should understand the conditions under which bearings can fail and some of the strategies that can be implemented to prevent these failures from happening. By addressing these issues in a timely manner, you increase your productivity and profitability, while also ensuring that your bearings will perform the way you need them to. In today’s post, we will discuss the signs you should look for to keep your bearings from failing.

What are Some Things that Cause Bearings to Fail?

Your business depends on your machinery running at top performance with minimal downtime. It’s crucial that your workers have been thoroughly trained and educated to properly maintain your machinery and equipment. When it comes to these machines having trouble due to bearing failure, these are the most common causes to look for:

Corrosion – one of the easiest signs to notice, rust and corrosion appear when the bearings have become contaminated with too much water.

Electrical Plating – electrical plating can affect how some bearings function, depending on what material they are made of.

Fitting or Installed Improperly – bearings that are incorrectly sized or improperly installed, you could have serious problems with your machinery.

Adjusted or Maintained Incorrectly – if you have not maintained the bearings properly, they can corrode and stop working.

Mishandled Bearings – without proper handling, bearings can malfunction and potentially damage your machinery.

Insufficient or Improper Lubrication – increased friction caused by lack of lubrication can cause your machine to seize up, possibly requiring expensive repair or replacement

Impact Load – put simply, if a bearing is incapable of handling the workload, failure is imminent.

Training is the Best Strategy for Bearing Maintenance

A well-trained staff is one of the best resources your company can have when it comes to properly caring for and maintaining your equipment and machinery. Not only will this allow your workforce to maintain equipment standards, but you can save yourself time, money, and headaches knowing that your staff has the knowledge to keep your operation running smoothly. Bearing Services offers a number of great training programs that will ensure that your employees have the training you need while also saving you the time needed to run and develop a training program. Contact us and get more information about the training programs we offer.