Trends in the design of main shaft and gearbox bearings are driven by unexpected failures in these units. Unplanned main-shaft bearing replacement costs operators up to $450,000 and have an obvious impact on financial performance. One gearbox service company says certain gearbox models show a particular design weakness: use of a four row, cylindrical bearing with a through hardened race in the planet gears. This is not an optimal bearing configuration for the application.
展开▼
