Product category:
Bearings and guideways - rotary and linear
News Release from: SKF UK | Subject: Low friction bearings, actuator and control units
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 March 2007
Low friction bearings, actuator and
control units
Energy efficiency solutions from SKF can lower total operational costs in many applications by reducing friction, reducing power consumption, and applying new technology.
SKF energy efficiency solutions lower total operational costs in many applications by reducing friction, reducing power consumption, and applying new technology, some of which can also eliminate costly ancillary equipment in pneumatic, hydraulic and oil related systems Solutions vary from very low friction bearings to actuator and control units for solar panel sun tracking systems, to advanced throttle control systems for the very rigorous demands of aerospace
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 19 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Examples of solutions, using knowledge from one or more of SKF's five technology platforms; Bearing, Seals, Mechatronics, Lubrication Systems and Services are; Compact SKF electromechanical actuators have replaced pneumatic actuators as the enabling technology for welding tongs in automotive plants in Germany.
Energy saving is more than 90% calculated on the energy required per complete welding point.
With over 300 robots in a typical production line, making 4 million welding points per year, the total savings are estimated at 13.5 million kWh per year.
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That is the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 17,000 Swedish homes for one month.
As well as energy saving the electromechanical actuators also allow faster welding cycle speeds, better quality control of the process, reduced maintenance costs and more flexibility in adapting to production line changes.
Electromechanical actuators can be used in robots in welding and other applications in the following industries; Automotive, Aerospace, Semiconductors, Metalworking, Food and Beverage and many other industrial segments.
Three different technical solutions delivered the following large energy savings in industrial compressors; * Savings of 700,000 kWh per year were made when SKF magnetic bearings replaced hydrodynamic bearings in a 12 MW natural gas pipeline compressor.
That is the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 900 Swedish homes for one month.
In addition there are cost and environmental benefits gained by eliminated oil related systems; pumps, coolers, filters and the need to dispose of used oil.
Magnetic bearings deliver torque by a shaft suspended in a magnetic field that can be controlled to vary the speed of rotation.
The shaft has no contact with any other machine parts making the system almost friction-free.
* More than 1 million kWh were saved over a four year period in field trials on three air conditioning compressors fitted with SKF hybrid bearings.
That is the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 1,200 Swedish homes for one month.
Hybrid bearings can be lubricated by the refrigerant, making the application oil-free.
Traditional systems use an oil/refrigerant mix to lubricate the bearings.
Additional cost and environment benefits are made due to eliminating oil related systems.
Hybrid bearings have silicon nitride rolling elements in place of traditional steel rolling elements.
* Energy consumption reductions averaging 5% per machine were made by optimizing screw compressors for commercial air conditioning systems, using SKF rotor positioning technology.
With an estimated base of 1 million systems and 100,000 added every year the potential savings are 2,500 million kWh, based on an average consumption of 200,000 kWh per year.
That is the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 3 million Swedish homes for one month.
Rotor positioning minimizes internal clearances in screw compressors thereby reducing leakage and improving overall efficiency.
SKF Automatic Throttle Control Units (ATCU) developed for business jets save an estimated 100 litres of fuel per flight hour that is equivalent to one million litres over the lifetime of the jet.
That is also the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 12,000 Swedish homes for one month.
The auto throttle takes over some pilot functions like thrust, rate of climb and speed during flight, adjusting as necessary to the reduced payload weight due to fuel burn off.
Computerised automatic control is more fuel efficient than human piloting and the typical reduction in fuel using SKF ATC units is up to 5% per flight.
The SKF ATC units for business jets are fully developed by SKF: hardware, software and interface to the digital engine computer that governs the engine speed and fuel supply.
They are currently FAA approved and installed on two lines of business jets.
SKF electromechanical actuators and control units allow self regulating sunblind systems to reduce energy consumption by 30-35% in the winter and 50% in the summer, at the European Commission Parliament building in Brussels.
The energy reduction is part of the consumption by the building's Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system and can reduce HVAC costs by an average of 40% per year.
Considering that HVAC systems consume one third of the energy use in office buildings, the savings are quite significant.
Typical savings for a 100,000 sq.m building have been estimated at 2.7 million kWh per year.
That is the equivalent of the total energy consumption of 3,300 Swedish homes for one month.
The sunblind system is a secondary glass facade that captures heat from the sun in the winter and deflects it in the summer.
The SKF actuator and control units are linked to the buildings HVAC system management software and vary the angle of the blinds according to the sun's position and other factors such as clouds and nearby buildings. Request a free brochure from SKF UK ...
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