Posted to News on 12th Sep 2007, 19:33
New washdown versions of adapter ball bearings
Baldor is launching washdown versions of its innovative adapter ball bearing range, the Dodge Grip Tight. Now offered with polymer and stainless steel housings in addition to cast iron, the innovative maintenance-friendly features of these ball bearings can reduce equipment lifecycle costs in washdown-duty zones within food, pharmaceutical and chemical processing plants.
Dodge Grip Tight bearings offer a significantly lower cost of ownership than conventional ball bearings because they feature a patented 'easy-off' adapter system and housing designs that accept as many as seven different sizes of fully concentric, 360-degree shaft rings.
The concentric bearing adapter press-fits onto the shaft and automatically loosens for maintenance or replacement by simply turning a nut that pulls the bearing off and pushes the adapter in the opposite direction. This innovation avoids any need for forcible removal or expansion heating - which eliminates fretting corrosion and prevents shaft damage.
Baldor says the bearings also reduce system vibration and run quieter. In addition, Dodge Grip Tight bearings are specifically engineered to run at higher speeds and operate cooler, for longer grease life. This reliability is aided by a Proguard Plus Seal with flingers, which protects by keeping lubricants in and contaminants out.
Significant inventory reduction will also be possible for many users because one bearing and housing design accepts a range of adapter sizes. Instead of stocking many individual bearing systems, many customers can reduce their inventory with a universal housing plus a range of bore size adapters.
Washdown Dodge Grip Tight adapter ball bearings are available in either polymer or stainless steel housings, and with corrosion-resistant ball bearings for sizes up to 50mm/2inches. These complement the general-purpose industrial Dodge Grip Tight range, which is manufactured from standard bearing-grade steel with rugged cast iron housings for metric or imperial shaft diameters of 17-90mm or 1/2 to 3-7/16inches. A range of different housing styles is available including pillow block, tapped base, two-, three-, and four-bolt flange, piloted flange, and take-up.
More information is available at www.dodge-pt.com/products/bearing/griptight/index.html.
