Energy efficient bearing for final drive cuts fuel costs

Christian Genheimer, Product and Business Development Manager for business unit Trucks, SKF, says: "All our product engineering efforts are focused towards having solutions that are energy efficient, long lasting and reducing cost for the truck and fleet owners. They should also be easy to install and cost efficient. It is all about saving money and time, but also reducing negative impact on the environment."

The SKF E2 TRB has been designed to reduce fuel consumption. Typical fuel savings achieved using this bearing in a truck final drive are approximately 0.15L per 100km, which for vehicles used on long haul routes adds up to an estimated annual saving of 150 litres per year. This gives a fast return on investment over time for truck and truck fleet owners, reducing total cost of ownership.

In comparison with SKF standard TRBs, that already provide high performance in this category, the new SKF E2 TRB has been further improved with a friction reduction calculated at 30 per cent. This can enable energy savings of approximately 500W when the bearing is used in the pinion position. Unlike competing products, this friction reduction is valid over the complete rpm range. For a typical truck running 100,000 kilometres per year, equipped with four bearings of this type, the reduction is estimated to 398kg CO2 saving per year.

Specific features of the new bearing include fewer rollers, improved roller topography and modified raceway profiles. The improvement of rollers means that, despite their reduced number, the SKF E2 TRB offers the same nominal carrying capacity as standard TRBs.

The new SKF E2 TRB is interchangeable with the current standard TRBs which makes implementation easy and cost efficient. For further information please visit www.skf.co.uk.