Farmers Review Africa March/April 2020 Farmers Review Africa March - April 2020 digital ( | Page 11

PRODUCT
BI agri hub units with tri-ply seal ball bearing arrangement
Bearings: the unsung hero components
in Agricultural machinery
A
gricultural engineering involves a wide
range of machines, equipment and
implements. This ranges from tillage
machines, tractors, tedders and balers to powerful
harvesting equipment such as forage harvesters
or combine harvesters. Even if the machines are
very different, the operating conditions are always
harsh. During the hot seasons, dust and sand
often prove to be a menace. On the other hand,
moisture is a real challenge for farmers over the
rainy seasons.
Heavy soils test the mechanical strength of all
machine parts to the limit. Constant vibrations and
high shocks are loads that occur throughout the
entire year. As such, the bearing supports in tillage
machines have to be particularly robust.
Bearings International
BI, a member of the Hudaco Group. is a leading
distributor of bearings and power transmission
products based in Southern Africa. With its
customer-focused approach, BI is committed
to delivering value to all its stakeholders, while
offering quality solutions that make a real
difference to optimising plant availability and
turnaround time.
With over 60 years in the bearings and power
transmission industry, BI puts its experience to
good use by going to great lengths in ensuring
their product range and services meet the
changing needs of clients, industry and business.
Backed by an elite technical team, BI covers the
full spectrum of customer requirements, and can
ensure immediate availability of products through
a nationwide network of branches.
In terms of future developments, Gerhard Pienaar,
the company’s Business Development Leader
Agriculture. reveals that BI will continue to develop
its special agri-hub units in conjunction with its
major OEM customers. These agri-hub units
feature a tri-ply seal ball bearing arrangement
to prevent the ingress of dust and dirt, a major
problem due to the arduous operating conditions
in the agricultural industry.
BI offers continuous development of solutions
together with the industry and OEM Manufacturers
as well as support and communications with
suppliers in order to keep abreast of development
throughout the world. They also pride themselves
in customer contact and face to face engagement
to determine their needs.
BI has five different bearing hub units available
for planters that fall under its Agri-Smart banner
of value-added products and services for the
agricultural sector. All have a fastening kit that can
be ordered separately.
Operation and maintenance
Gerhard states that to remain relevant in the
market, having the right products at the right
time and price is key. Moreover, in dealing with
high consumption of ball bearings used in a high-
speed application, he recommends preventing the
ingress of dirt and moisture into the bearings. This,
he adds, will help increase levels of production as
well as the utilization rates of machinery.
For farmers, it is also best to understand and avoid
bearing failures by ensuring that the lubricants do
not get contaminated. This is because ideally
bearings are supposed to last for a long time.
The Jonnesway agri toolbox from BI has been
developed by farmers for farmers
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