NSK announced that it has developed a long-life, large-size roller bearing for large gearboxes. The key to the development was a combination of special heat treatment technology and material developed by NSK that provides excellent flaking resistance, including that of white structure flaking.
NSK is targeting USD 10M in global annual sales by 2017 for this product designed for large gearboxes used in heavy load conditions, such as wind power generators.
Roller bearings that can support heavy loads are used in gearboxes used in large industrial machines such as wind power generators, mining and construction equipment, and steelmaking equipment. Therefore, bearings used in the large gearboxes used for such applications must be highly reliable. NSK was able satisfy the demand for greater performance in roller bearings for large gearboxes by combining special heat treatment technology and material developed by NSK. In particular, NSK has been able to decrease early damage by white structure flaking that leads to seven times service life longer than conventional bearing.
The newly developed bearing is better than the conventional bearing for use in harsh environments due to its improved gearbox reliability.
