SKF food-grade bearing sets high standards in hygienic design

A new ball bearing from SKF, with food-grade grease and an integral seal, requires no relubrication – which helps maintain both machine performance and hygiene standards.

Pre-filling with food-grade grease and the incorporated integral seal reduce water ingress – helping to raise bearing performance and maintain high standards of hygiene. And without the requirement for relubrication, there is reduced maintenance, greater uptime, less chance of leakage and lower grease consumption.

A reduction in grease consumption – and grease disposal – can help factories to improve their environmental performance. At the same time, the low-friction seal helps to reduce the energy consumption of the bearing – which offers further savings.

“Until now, there have only been custom-filled bearings for this type of application. As an off-the-shelf product, our new Food Line bearing will be faster – and more cost-effective – to re-order than a bearing that needs to be custom-filled,” says Christian Mertens, application specific offer manager at SKF.

It is also manufactured to SKF’s Explorer performance class and has a high load-carrying capacity. This helps to maintain rotating equipment performance – and maximise uptime – under the demanding conditions of food production.

The new bearing fully complies with food industry standards. Its high-performance, food grade NSF H1 grease is optimised for use in the food and beverage industry. It is Halal- and Kosher-certified and complies with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Community (EC) recommendations. The food-grade seals are blue in colour, which allows for easier optical detection.