EDITOR’S CHOICE
NSK LINEAR GUIDES
NSK
SWITCHING TO NSK BOOSTS LINEAR
GUIDE LIFE BY A FACTOR OF NINE
A UK-based manufacturer of hygienic wipes
(wet wipes) is enjoying the benefits of
replacing standard linear guides with those
manufactured by NSK. After experiencing
persistent and expensive breakdown
situations, the company opted to upgrade
by fitting NSK linear guides, which thanks
to their stainless steel sliders and specially
coated rails, have delivered a nearly nine-
fold increase in working life. Installed within
the framework of an NSK Added Value
Programme AIP, the move has resulted in
improved machine performance, as well as
reduced maintenance and downtime costs.
The company makes wet wipes for domestic
and cosmetic use. However, the plant
was having an issue with its converting,
cutting and stacking line, which sections
and compresses the wet wipes ready for
packaging. Here, frequent failures were
occurring of the linear guide found on the
´stacker feet´ section.
The ´stacker feet´ section uses a linear guide
with the slider held stationary, while the
rail with a foot mounting is driven up and
down in quick succession to compress the
wet wipes. It could be observed that the
material used to manufacture both the rail
and slider elements of the linear guide was
high-carbon bearing steel, with standard
seals attached to the slider.
Unfortunately, the impact of linear guide
failure was proving costly for the plant, with
increased maintenance and unplanned
downtime. Each failure, which on average
occurred every two weeks (26 times a year),
would result in downtime costs of around
€410 per hour. For every failure event, an
engineer would require 30 minutes to
replace the guide.
Understandably, the company wanted
to find a solution to improve machine
performance and extend linear guide life.
NSK´s engineering team was duly invited
to visit the site and review the application.
This process revealed that the existing
linear guides were frequently failing due to
corrosion and the ingress of chemical fluid,
causing seizure from grease washout.
Following the review, the engineers
recommended replacing the standard linear
guides with NSK linear guides featuring
stainless steel sliders and specially coated
rails. Since implementation, breakdown
events have been reduced significantly.
Whereas the plant was previously
experiencing 26 breakdowns a year, the
company has witnessed just three in 12
months using the NSK linear guides - an
impressive 88% decrease. In turn, the
company has achieved significant savings in
linear guide, downtime and repair costs.
About NSK
Established 100 years ago, NSK (Nippon
Seiko Kabushiki Kaisha) is a Japanese-
listed company that has evolved from
a regional ball bearing supplier to a
roller bearing specialist and automotive
supplier with a global market presence.
Today, NSK employs more than 31,860
employees in 30 countries.
For more information, visit
www.nskeurope.com
Issue 36 PECM
13