Ear muffs and plugs

For workers who work in high noise areas, ear protection is vital. Ear muffs or disposable ear plugs can be worn by employees to protect their hearing from loud noises. This might be the constant running of mechanical equipment or the temporary use of a power tool.

High visibility workwear

High visibility workwear such as high vis jackets and high vis coats are especially important when working in areas where visibility might be affected. This type of safety equipment comes in especially important at night or in loading areas where drivers need to be aware of other workers.

Knee pads

If your job involves kneeling for any length of time, knees pads should always be worn. Knee pads can be strapped around the knee area whenever needed and provide a protective cushion so the user can feel comfortable whilst working.

Eye protection

When there is a chance that your eyes might sustain damage whilst performing any activity, eye protection should be worn. This might be when using a power drill, a lathe or milling machine or even when handling solvents or chemicals.

Design engineers spend countless hours working out which type of bearing will be suitable for a specific application, just so the rating of the bearing is correct.

Some of the bearing considerations which must be made include:

• The arrangement of the bearing
• The materials out of which the bearing will be made
• The bearing speed requirements
• The weight of the load
• The potential for bearing misalignment
• The design of the races and the cage
• The sealing method
• The number of bearings needed
• The space availability for future bearing replacement
• The mounting method
• The expected lifespan
• The conditions in which the bearing will be used

These are just a few of the considerations which must be made before a particular bearing is decided upon. It is normally quite rare for a machine designer to be able to use an ‘off-the-shelf’ bearing, as design constraints normally dictate something bespoke.

Spill kits come in many forms, from simple kits which serve to clean up general spills of oils, to more specific kits which can be used to clean chemical spills or alkali or acid spills. Larger spill kits might contain spill absorbents such as pads or pillows, which absorb the spilled solution, some even contain spill booms or other containment devices which enable easy control of the spill.

Large spill kits might be contained in a large bin in a similar size to a wheeled bin you might have at home and also contain PPE, a bag where the used spill control items can be deposited and even warning signs and hazard tape.

It’s always worth a company having a range of different spill kits located at various points around the site and instruct personnel on how the kits should be used.

It’s also important to note that spill kits should be checked on a regular basis and any used components replaced.

Small wind turbines have a capacity of around 50kW and are identical in their design to their larger counterparts, just on a smaller scale. It is however perhaps more pertinent for small wind turbines to emit less noise than their larger cousins due to them being used much more closely to residential and commercial establishments.

It’s normal for small wind turbines to use deep groove ball bearings or spherical roller bearings. It doesn’t matter if the turbine is large or small, the main shaft bearing is perhaps the most important component in the turbine and because of this it has to be a reliable and cost-effective solution.

The small wind turbine sector has thus turned to NSK Self Lube housed bearings, which are ready assembled and just need to be bolted into place. The self lube units are capable of coping with misalignment of around 2° and can be relubricated via grease nipple on the bearing housing.

The SelfLube units also feature superfinished bearing raceways which results in quiet running and extended lifespan.

The new bearing design on the orbital aeration tanks allow for easy maintenance because the shafts of the long horizontal rotors no longer have to be removed. In the past a crane was needed to remove the housing and the bearings, which meant a great deal of time, effort and financial expenditure.

The new bearings can also withstand full immersion at times of heavy rainfall, something which their predecessors could not match and are also fitted with remote grease points so maintenance engineers don’t have to come in contact with the sewage waste.

Sales and marketing director at Revolvo Adrian Menzies says:

“Thanks to a very effective sealing system, our bearings are capable of surviving far longer than traditional bearings – eight years, or more – with no more basic maintenance than standard regreasing required,

“Another advantage of SRB split roller bearings is that, when they do reach the end of their life, they are very easy to replace,”

Idle wheels are fitted to a drive system to provide added tension to a drive; however they can also be added for a host of other reasons, including:

• To guide belts around obstructions
• To work as clutch sheaves
• Increase the point of contact on drive systems which have small sheaves
• To reduce the incidence of vibration on drives which have long belts

In a standard drive application idlers are usually fitted to the inside of the belt. This pushes the belt outwards to increase tension, they are also usually placed near the largest sheave so as not to reduce the point of contact on the smaller sheave. Idlers can also be fitted to the outside of the drive, but if they are, problems can be induced due to the reversible bending stresses put on the drive belt.

The horsepower rating of the belt may be reduced if you use an idler on the drive, but this loss of horsepower is usually seen as only a minor problem considering the other benefits that using an idler creates.

The bearings support the weight of the bridge and each have to cope with around 80 tonnes in weight. The work to replace the bearings is expected to take around 20 weeks.

Bridge engineer at Derbyshire County Council Graham Hollet was quoted as saying on the BBC that these types of bearing only have a finite life, he said:

“The bearings are nearly 30 years old,

“They are deteriorating and not allowing the bridge to move as it was designed to.

“If we leave them unchecked, it would set up unacceptable stresses on that bridge which would lead to very expensive repairs and would put the structure at risk.”

There are around 100 bearings in total on the bridge, all of which will need to be replaced. In the meantime temporary structures will be built to support the weight of the bridge so effective bearing replacement can be carried out.

A mock hospital has been built on a ‘shake-table’ at a test site so engineers can induce earthquake-like shaking conditions.
If positive, the tests will confirm whether the rubber bearings are able to support the degree of movement which might be expected if an earthquake were to occur. Rubber bearings are frequently used in Japan in similar constructions.

It is the first time that this new type of bearing system has been tested in the US to such a scale and it’s hopeful the results will prove positive.

Engineering Professor Tara Hutchinson said:

“What the bearings do is uncouple the building from the motion of the ground during an earthquake, like putting the building on roller skates,

“What we found is that the contents of the building carried on working after our ‘earthquakes,

“If the equipment had been life-support systems keeping real people alive, then the bearings would have saved their lives.”

Comparison tests are now being conducted to see what damage would have been sustained had the rubber bearings not been used.

At HillHead 2012, SKF, the popular bearing manufacturer, are planning show their range of innovative new bearing products, among them is the SKF Explorer self-aligning roller bearing.

The Explorer range of bearings has been expanded immensely and now features upgraded component design, improved manufacturing processes and a wider range of bearings suitable for many more applications. The new designs help the bearings to resist the heavy contamination present in the quarrying, mining and construction industries.

Other bearing products being showcased by SKF include their new SE bearing housing and SKF idler sound monitor.

The new idler sound monitor from SKF is an easy-to-use handheld device which can detect faults in conveyor belt idlers. The device uses acoustic enveloping technology, which can distinguish between those sounds generated by a good idler and those sounds generated by a faulty idler, enabling easy condition monitoring in tough working conditions.

Tapered roller bearings are used in car wheels because they can support the weight of the car whilst are also able to support the cornering forces generated by great axial loading.

In tapered roller bearings the rollers are set at an angle between the raceways. This means that the apex of the tapered rollers will intersect at a point on the bearing centreline, depending on the type of bearing and the load which needs to be supported. Tapered bearings are usually used in pairs so can cope with the induced force in either axial direction.

Needle tapered roller bearings feature needles instead of rollers which are usually around three to ten times longer than their diameter. These can support high loading whilst also offer high rigidity for applications in which require smaller than normal bearing sizes.