One of the United States’ largest poultry producers was suffering production crippling bearing failures on its cropper machine caused by water ingression. Failures were occurring on a monthly basis, accounting for over $33,750 in lost production per month. NTN’s engineering and sales support team performed a comprehensive evaluation of the cropper machine and identified 15 bearings susceptible to failure due to corrosion caused by exposure to water.
NTN’s team recommended that the 15 bearings identified be replaced with Sentinel Series ball bearings. The company’s Sentinel Series features corrosion-resistant stainless steel ball bearings with seals and NSF H1 registered solid lubricant. The solid lubrication provides up to 21 times better wash-out resistance than standard grease and the seals provide improved protection over standard deep groove ball bearings, which is critical to extending the life of equipment exposed to moisture.
The NTN solution reduced annual failures on the cropper machine from 180 down to 30, nearly an 85% reduction. Rather than incurring monthly downtime due to corrosion, the NTN solution lasted six months before replacing the bearings was even considered. The increased uptime, reduced maintenance, and decrease in bearing spend resulted in over $343,000 in savings in the first year for the poultry processing plant.
FEATURES:
• Food-grade solid lubricant eliminates maintenance, resists wash-out
• Stainless steel or thermoplastic housings with stainless steel inserts prevent corrosion from moisture and harsh cleaning agents
• All units come equipped with your choice of open or closed cover configurations