Reassessing grooves in bearings and wear pads
Time：27 Jan,2022
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20220127/1643275006109072.png" title="1643275006109072.png" alt="3.png"/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Vesconite Bearings is exploring new engineering design methods, including reducing or eliminating grooves, where possible, in industrial and marine applications.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Vesconite’s bearing materials are internally lubricated so, when replacing traditional materials, Vesconite is challenging engineers to explore designs that remove redundant or superfluous grooves for cooling lubricant or water.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For instance, Vesconite engineers have redesigned a forklift lower wear pad without the seven grooves on the upper surface that were in place in the original moulded nylon parts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">“Eliminating grooves improves the structural integrity of the part and reduces manufacturing times and costs,” says forklift application engineer Calvin Mpofu.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, Vesconite Bearings can better on previous marine stern-tube <a href="https://www.sunspeedbearing.com/products/catalogue.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192); text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192);"><strong>bearing</strong></span></a> designs where constant water cooling is needed and bushings have water circulation grooves.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">“The number of grooves can be reduced where the groove radius and depth can be altered to obtain a sufficient flow of water for cooling,” reinforces marine application engineer Wian Venter.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a result, Vesconite Bearings has suggested a reduction in the number of stern-tube grooves in a case where the original design was a rubber Cutlass bearing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br/></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This original design, which included a nitrile rubber lining bonded to a brass shell, required many grooves running the length of the rubber lining to dissipate frictional heat and increase the cooling flow of water.</p><p><br/></p>
