This includes the storage yard for raw materials to the steelmaking, rolling and refining processes. All kinds of bearings are used in this plant and equipment.
The operational environment for these bearings is unique to steelmaking, comprising steel dust, water and heat. In addition, the bearings may have to cope with heavy loads and vibration shock, operational speeds ranging from extremely slow through to high, coupled with rapid acceleration and deceleration.
This makes for a demanding operational environment that is not found in other applications.
NSK aims to make a positive contribution to improving operational stability and productivity. These are issues crucial to the steel industry, which is representative of the industry which manufactures production equipment. NSK achieves this aim by
- The application of high-level bearing design technologies
- Ongoing planning, development and R & D from many different perspectives, including bearing technologies of materials, lubrication, and analysis.
Over many years, this has led to the implementation of strategies for attaining the company's fundamental goal: producing bearings with a long operating life and high reliability. NSK offers a comprehensive line-up of bearings for the steel industry, from standard bearings meeting ISO standards through to its own independently developed, high-capacity specialised bearings.
NSK is now also responding to the need for high added-value products and an environmentally friendly approach in the steel industry.
NSK Experience & Technology
In the dynamic steelmaking environment, rolling is a typical process. In the rolling process, red-hot steel is squeezed between rollers, making it longer and thinner. This is a crucial process that greatly influences the quality of the final product. On both sides of the main rollers, four-row tapered roller bearings are generally used to cope with the heavy loads and the exposure to cooling water and mill scale. The steelmaking environment in general is a good example of the range of conditions in which bearings must be used.
NSK has worked to increase the life expectancy of these four-row tapered roller bearings. In the 1970's the company developed, as a world first, Sealed-Clean™ Four-Row Tapered Roller Bearings, complete with oil-sealing equipment to prevent the intrusion of water and mill scale. This greatly extended the life of roller bearings. Subsequently, NSK released special greases for the Sealed-Clean™ bearings. In the 1990's the company substantially improved the load rating of bearings through an internal design improvement, and it also developed new scale-resistant materials. In recent years NSK has also developed new materials with resistance to cooling water processes.
NSK aims to be a company that enjoys trust and a good reputation from its customers, and it will continue to proceed with customer needs uppermost in mind.
