n TECHNOLOGY February 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 For moreTechnology News visit www.drivesncontrols.com NSK CLAIMS THAT IT CAN revise the dynamic load rating of many of its rolling bearings to double their rolling contact fatigue life without any changes to their design or materials, following a “breakthrough” in the way bearing lives are calculated – the first significant change to these calculations in more than 60 years, it says. The development will help end-users to improve productivity, cut the frequency with which they need to replace their bearings, and reduce waste. The fundamental formulae used to calculate bearing lives have hardly changed since being defined in a report issued in 1962 by the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA) – the forerunner of the current ISO (International Organization for Standardization). Now, more than six decades later, NSK says it has learned more about calculating and predicting bearing lives, making it time to reconsider how we evaluate this critical parameter. The project started around 20 years ago, when NSK noticed a growing gap between bearing lives calculated using the ISO standard and actual lives verified by endurance testing. It embarked on a more detailed study. At that time, NSK found that the lives of its bearings were around 20 times longer than those expected under the ISO standards. Now, in 2024, the lives of its bearings can be more than 50 times longer. Longer bearing lives can improve production efficiency and protect the environment by reducing the frequency with which bearings have to be replaced, and the quantity of waste generated. NSK’s research revealed that, under welllubricated conditions, the composition and the quality of bearing steel is a more accurate indicator of how long a bearing will last. Its engineers realised that an evaluation method based on fracture mechanics might provide more meaningful insights into bearing lives. The company embarked on joint project with Kyushu University to establish a method that could determine which factors influenced the process of crack propagation in the steel materials. By combining the new method with an ultrasonic inspection technique that scans non-metallic inclusions in large volumes of steel, NSK found it could predict bearing lives much more accurately. Using this ultrasonic inspection method – called Micro-UT – it is possible to inspect more than 3,000 times the volume of steel compared with conventional microscopebased methods, in a fifth of the time. NSK is now reviewing the basic dynamic load ratings of its rolling bearings to determine appropriate safety margins. It assures customers that the updating process will be based on a well-researched methodology supported by extensive empirical data. Any uprated values will remain well within the safe range. www.nskeurope.com pIO-Link Wireless is now an international standard, following the publications of IEC 61139-3:2023 Industrial networks – Singledrop digital communication interface – Part 3: Wireless extensions. IO-Link Wireless oers fast, reliable wire-free communications between sensors, actuators and base stations in industrial environments. p The US electric motor design and software company ECM PCB Stator Tech has released its PrintStator Motor CAD SaaS (Software as a Service) which, it asserts, will transform the way electric motors are devised and manufactured. Via a cloudbased interface, PrintStator users can dial in precise performance and dimensional specs to create custom electric motors for a variety of applications. Design les generated using the software can be printed worldwide, facilitating vertical or local manufacturing. p The UK motors and drives developer Equipmake has secured a £715,000 contract from the electric aircraft propulsion rm H55 to develop a 100kW motor and controller for an electric two-seater training aircraft, the BRM Aero Bristell B23 Energic, which is expected to enter production in 2025. The contract follows an initial phase to develop and test Equipmake’s lightweight, power-dense motors for electric aircraft. pMitsubishi Electric is collaborating with a with the US electric motorcycle developer LiveWire (in which Harley-Davidson is the majority shareholder), to provide power semiconductor modules for LiveWire’s S2 bike, which is designed to accelerate from 060mph in three seconds. The bike’s 62kW motor delivers 263Nm of torque. The bike charges in 78 minutes and has a range of 181km. p The German intralogistics specialist IdentPro has developed a digital twin that localises and identies goods using movement tracing of manual and automated oor conveyor vehicles (FCVs) including AMRs (autonomous mobile robots). The Warehouse Execution System software automates the time-consuming process of identifying goods and storage spaces, and monitoring the fullling of transport orders. To achieve this, IdentPro ts forklifts with an IoT kit, allowing them to localise themselves, and to track objects and movements in the warehouse. IdentPro is also using an inductive wireless charging system from Wiferion to charge its AMRs quickly and to ensure 24/7 availability. p The German machine vision specialist Chromasens – formerly part of Siemens – has launched a camera conguration tool that helps select its linescan cameras, lenses and other components. The congurator simplies the specication process, removing the need to search Web pages, and replacing it with a faster, more intuitive experience with higher accuracy. https://chromasens.de/en/ camera-congurator TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS ‘Breakthrough’ in calculations could double bearing fatigue lives Non-metallic inclusions in the inner raceways are a significant factor in the flaking process that shortens bearing lives. Tiny particles of alumina or other materials from the steel manufacturing process produce non-metallic inclusions in the bearing raceways, giving rise to stresses in the steel. Over time, these can lead to changes in the metal’s crystalline structure, causing fatigue cracks to occur, in turn resulting in flaking and, ultimately, in bearing failures. The new ultrasonic testing technique reveals these inclusions and determines their sizes in large volumes of steel, giving a more accurate indication of bearing lives.
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