Filling and bottling machinery is exposed to liquids that can be sticky or corrosive, extremes or fluctuations in temperatures, debris, dust and cleaning detergents during maintenance – all of which can take a toll on the essential moving parts of the processing machinery. BNL’s plastic bearings are moulded for a long operational life, need no lubrication and are corrosion resistant to the liquid and chemicals found in bottling and filling systems, resulting in less maintenance, clogging and downtime.
Chemical and Corrosion Resistant Bearings
Frequent replacement of corroded components, such as bearings and wheels, is costly and time consuming. Where BNL plastic bearings are used in place of metal bearings or bearings with metal components, they offer a significant reduction in maintenance and downtime, plus an uptick in productivity. Made from acetal as standard, our plastic bearings are non-corrosive in water, salt water and a variety of acids and alkalis found in food and detergents used in wash-downs of machinery. Our customers gain cost savings from fewer component replacements, better productivity, and less maintenance and related labour costs.
We also offer bearings made with thermoplastics and balls materials that are especially chosen to withstand harsher chemicals and more extreme temperatures, such as PEEK and UHMWPE, polyethylene or glass.
Learn more about the plastic bearing materials we use.
Bearings without Lubrication or Grease
Thermoplastics are inherently lubricated, so our plastic bearings do not need grease or other lubricants to help them perform. There is no need to stop production to re-lubricate the system and no lubricants to replace after washdowns. There is no risk of the lubricant leaching out or even contaminating the production process. There is no need for repeat purchase of lubricants over the life of the system or regular maintenance costs to replace them when needed.
Moulded Bearings for Longer Operational Life
By using injection moulding to manufacture our products, we produce bearings with excellent wear properties. The injection moulding process creates a fine grain and sheer layer surface as the plastic cools. This layer suppresses wear for a longer operational life. Machining plastic bearings, whether fully machining from stock or machining raceways, removes this so they wear faster and fail sooner.
Read more about our moulded plastic bearings.
Read more about how the benefits of BNL’s moulded, corrosion resistant, non-lube bearings, allowed one of our food processing customers to significantly reduce maintenance time, component costs and manufacturing downtime.
Free-flow & Anti-clog Bearings
Light weight and low torque, BNL’s “free flow” bearing designs, have torques less than half that of our normal radial plastic bearings and less than a quarter of similar sized metal options. They are effective in applications which must work in environments where dust, debris and liquids can affect the smooth operation of the bearing.
Our cage and race designs allows water and debris to flow freely through the system for a smooth and precise flow of liquid even under low pressure and flow conditions. Our cage-less ‘open design’ bearing is an alternative to the shields and seals used to prevent debris from entering and clogging the workings of the bearing, reducing the risk of bearing seizure and high torque.
Discover more about our free flow, anti-clog bearings.
Read more about our custom design and integrated plastic bearings.
Plastic Bearings for Bottling & Filling, Material Handling & Automation
Our industry standard bearing (ISB) range of radial bearings are made from acetal with stainless steel balls, but can be made with glass, polyethylene or other ball materials. Wed also design and manufacture industry standard products to customer sepcification, including bearings for material handling and automation, including end caps, skate wheel, overhead conveyor wheels, pulleys and thrust races.
View our conveyor systems bearings, poultry processing bearings and overhead & aerial conveyor system bearings.
Discover our Industry Standard Products
Discover our ISBs – Industry Standard Plastic Bearings