With 100 years of hands-on experience in rotating equipment, SKF has a unique understanding of the conditions affecting bearing life, spindle uptime, product quality and plant productivity. As a manufacturer itself, the company has implemented many of these solutions in its own plants. The result has been a quick return on investment through higher productivity and reduced maintenance.
Drawing on this experience, SKF offers a broad range of cost-effective solutions for machine tool operations – from specialised bearings, sealing and lubrication solutions to mechatronics, automated maintenance and machine monitoring systems.
Super-precision bearingsThe accumulated experience of super precision bearings, particularly within the design and manufacturing of special bearings for aerospace and machine tool applications, makes them the benchmark for high-quality, advanced technology bearings. Strengthened with SNFA, developer and producer of super-precision bearings, SKF now provide a unique total offer to machine tool manufacturers all over the world. The main super-precision bearing types are angular contact ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, double direction angular contact thrust ball bearings, angular contact thrust ball bearings for screw drives and other various types of customised bearings for machine tools and other precision applications where extended speed capability, high accuracy, good contribution to system rigidity, low heat generation and low noise levels are some of the challenges.
These super-precision bearings are available in a very wide range of shaft sizes, and bearing specifications are in line with international standards to secure interchangeability.
Sealing solutionsMachine breakdowns and resulting financial losses are often caused by lubricant starvation or contaminants entering the system. Adequately selected seals retain the lubricants and exclude contaminants. Increasing speeds and processing temperatures mean that components are becoming more abrasive. This can undermine sealing performance and service lifetime. To solve problems like these, SKF offers first-class sealing designs in superior materials. SKF seals in its specialised design solutions are tuned to meet specific application requirements, and are available in a very wide range of sizes up to 4 000 mm diameter.
Lubrication systemsUp to 40 per cent of premature bearing failures are caused by lubrication problems – whether it is due to too much, too little, the wrong type or contaminated lubricant. SKF automatic lubrication technologies offer a number of important advantages, from faster production and reduced maintenance costs to a healthier, more environmentally friendly workplace. They include the industry’s most advanced, automated minimal quantity lubrication (MQL) systems for machining processes as well as centralised, multi-point lubrication systems for drives, bearings and auxiliary equipment.Mechatronics SystemsBy bringing together competences in linear motion, bearings, sealing, lubrication, sensors and electronics, as well as integrating the best available development practices and technologies, SKF offers a range of standard and customised solutions for streamlining machine tool subassemblies. SKF offers a full line of linear drive and guiding systems – from linear ball bearings and units, precision shafts, linear motion guides to different type of slides, positioning tables and cam-roller guides. All are designed for ease of maintenance and reliability. What’s more, many are off-the-shelf products, available for drop-in replacement. Linear drives for many machine tool axes are equipped with ball and roller screws. SKF ball and roller screws provide a fast and precise linear movement. The screws are also available with the support bearings pre-assembled on the screw shaft – ready to bolt in place. This speeds up and simplifies assembly and alignment procedures.
ServicesThe extreme accuracy and repeatability required of machine tool applications demand that only highly skilled technicians with in-depth knowledge of the equipment or systems, perform upgrades or repairs. Due to the intensive training and experience needed, many facilities are outsourcing service of their most critical equipment. SKF provides a wide range of highly specialised expert services – from engineering upgrades to spindle analysis, reconditioning, and replacement. In addition to machine tool services, SKF can provide expert consultancy and asset management services to optimise overall equipment effectiveness. Capabilities include advanced condition monitoring technologies, predictive and proactive maintenance programs, and hands-on maintenance training. Reliability experts can perform root cause failure analysis (RCFA) on critical equipment and recommend appropriate equipment upgrades to solve recurring application problems.
