Bearings Cleaning,Inspection and Judgement
Bearings are an essential part of any machine or installation. Proper cleaning, inspection and judgement of bearings contributes significantly to their long term performance as well as the longevity of the entire machine or installation.
The cleaning of a bearing needs to be done in such a way that all the oil and grease have been removed so that they are ready to receive new grease or oil. This process can be done using an aqueous based parts washer, a biodegradable detergent and deionized water. The aqueous based parts washer has no risk of fire; it is cost effective, and gentler on all components, especially bearings. The aqueous based parts washer can be further supplemented with manual cleaning to ensure that all spots, lumps or caked on grease has been removed as it can be hard to remove such debris in an automated system.
After the cleaning process, it is now essential to inspect and judge the bearing correctly to ensure that if you were to put it back into use it would not cause any harm. This judgement and inspection process starts with getting a good visual check. It is necessary to replenish any marks of wear on the bearing, check any potential of stress fractures or fatigue cracks in the bearing, as well as check for any defects in the material or coating that is present within the bearing. To check for these stresses and defects, it is necessary to use some form of inspection equipment, such as a magnifying lamp and a visual inspection light that can aid you in looking for such defects.
Once all of these processes have been done, it is essential to make an educated judgement as to whether a bearing can be reused or if it is past its life expectancy. If a bearing is found to have any signs of wear, stress, cracks or defects, then it is recommended to start looking for a replacement. It is important to remember that the longer you wait and the more damage accumulated, the greater the cost of replacement, resulting in a potentially longer downtime or increased maintenance costs.
In conclusion, proper cleaning and judgement of bearings is of paramount importance to ensure the longevity, performance and safety of a machine or installation. It is essential that the cleaning of bearings is done in an aqueous based parts washer with biodegradable detergent and deionized water so as to not harm the bearing or the environment. Further inspection is then needed to check for any stress, wear and defects, with an educated judgement call being taken at the end. In this manner, the risk of downtime, increased maintenance cost and the risk of injury can be diminished.
