Bearings are commonly found in nuclear power plants as part of

Tag : deep groove ball bearings
Locating and sourcing a supplier of an obsolete mechanicalcomponent such as a bearing, is a growing concern for manyorganisations, particularly if the component is part of asafety-critical system on an aircraft or nuclear power plantapplication.

Sourcing a bearing for a mechanical system on a military aircraft,for example, can be a challenging process, particularly if thesystem is an ageing one. The aircraft itself may have been inoperational service for more than 40 years and may also beprojected to remain in service for many more years to come.However, if the operator needs replace the original bearings, theoriginal supplier of the component may have ceased to exist, is nowre-located overseas, or perhaps is no longer willing to manufacturethe equivalent bearing in such small volumes (less than 1,000units). This means that many aircraft (and other mechanical) systemoperators and managers are now facing significant bearingobsolescence issues, particularly if the quantity of bearings theyrequire is relatively low.

In addition, there may be other design features about the bearingsthat make it equally unattractive, or even impossible, for asupplier to adhere to. For example, the bearing may require specialmaterials, special lubrication, certification, special featuressuch as tapered outside diameters, or may need to fit an Imperialchassis size.

There are similar issues in the nuclear industry too. Bearings arecommonly found in nuclear power plants as part of actuationsystems, which position the control rods into the fuel bundle. Inan emergency situation, the control rods are dropped into the fuelbundle to absorb the reactor heat, which dictates that the bearingsmust not, under any circumstances, fail. This means bearingsuppliers must offer full manufacturing traceability, controlledlubrication and complete retention of records, similar to theaerospace and defence industry.

The solution for the system operator is to find a bearing supplierwho is able to manufacture the specified bearing to the same (orhigher) quality standards as the original and who is also willingto supply in small batch sizes, anything between 10 and 500 units.Robin Kyte is a Sales Manager at Plymouth-based bearingsmanufacturer The Barden Corporation (UK) Ltd. The companymanufactures a range of super precision angular contact and deepgroove ball bearings. The focus is on special configurationbearings that add value and provide engineered solutions for thecustomer. As Kyte states: