Issues That Lead To Noisy Bearings

Industrial machines are made of several different components. These include all types of small and large hardware components including but not limited to screws, shafts, balls, bearings, rotators, and more.

All these components play an important role in ensuring the proper functioning of the machine. However, out of these, bearings play an integral role since the efficiency and operability of rotating shafts depend on them.

Since the bearings keep rotating to support other parts of the machine, they constantly have to overcome friction. If friction is not dealt with and reduced, it can affect the functionality of the bearing leading to compromised efficiency and operability.

Unfortunately, since the bearings are well hidden inside the machine, they are usually overlooked during regular maintenance procedures. Even though bearings play a crucial role to ensure the smooth operation of the machine, they only get attention when they start producing noise.

If a machine is constantly producing weird knocking or grinding noises, it is most likely that the issue lies with one of the bearings. The bearing is either breaking down due to lack of lubrication or the friction is hindering its movement. In either case, you might have to look into getting it properly lubricated with the help of a professional.

To avoid similar problems, it is important that you conduct regular maintenance sessions for all your machines and ensure proper lubrication filtration to prevent the oil from getting contaminated. Contamination of the lubricant is a huge issue that affects most parts of the machine.

In this article, we have listed some of the most common reasons due to which a bearing can become noisy.

Lubrication Failure

This is one of the most common reasons for a noisy bearing. Since bearings support rotating shafts and keep moving, they face a huge amount of friction. To ensure the friction does not affect the bearings, they have to be properly lubricated.

However, in many cases, technicians either use improper lubrication or don’t use enough lubrication. This leads to noisy bearings. A well-known and skilled lubrication technician knows how to spot the issue that is causing a noisy bearing.

In most cases, abrasions on the bearing and discoloration refer to failure of lubrication. If you don’t have a proper lubrication filtration system in place, there is a high chance that the contamination of the lubricant has led to its failure.

Corrosion

Another issue that can cause a noisy bearing is corrosion. This issue is also birthed by improper lubrication. If you use a low-quality lubricant or don’t have a proper lubrication filtration system in place, it can lead to the corrosion of different parts.

This happens because the lubricant accumulates moisture and acid over time which reaches the bearings in the form of condensation. This starts to corrode the metal.

A corroded bearing faces more resistance which is why it produces a knocking sound. If the bearings and the connected parts have red and brown stains, they are an indication of corrosion.

Overheating

Another possible reason for noisy bearings is overheating and fatigue. This can be caused either by overload or by inner-ring fix, using your bearings beyond their life expectancy and improper lubrication.

Overheating deteriorates the structure of the bearing which not only affects its performance but also reduces its life expectancy and affects the functioning of the machine.

Improper Mounting

This is usually caused when an unskilled or careless technician performs the maintenance session for your industrial machine. If bearings and other parts of the machine are not mounted properly, it can lead to premature failure.

This leads them to produce constant grinding and knocking sounds. improperly mounted bearing is a dangerous issue. The bearing can break down and the broken parts can hinder the functionality of other parts of the machine.

Hence, make sure that you hire a professional technician to perform maintenance sessions.

Conclusion

Heavy-duty machines being employed in industries require constant observation and the right technical skills to monitor their performance. Moreover, it is important that you perform oil condition monitoring as well. For this, it is better to hire a professional who has the required know-how of lubrication and lubrication filtration.

Many industries don’t understand the importance of identifying the contaminants in a lubricant and whether its quality has degraded. This not only helps in determining when to change the lubrication but also helps you in understanding whether the filtration process that you have employed is working or not.

A proper and well-curated lubrication filtration program can help you save a lot on repairs and lubricants. Filtration helps in removing moisture, solid particles, and other contaminants from the lubricant which prevents most of the issues with the machine. It prevents premature aging as well as overheating of parts of machines due to friction. The best way to ensure all this is by hiring an expert in the field of lubrication and its filtration.

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