Biscom, a sugar refinery in the Philippines, had used double row spherical roller bearings on its main line conveyor head shaft drives for five years. Bearing changeouts required 24 hours of plant downtime – incurring considerable delays for this 14,000-tonne capacity facility.

On the hunt for a faster solution that didn’t compromise performance, Biscom turned to Bowman’s regional brand representative, Kenneth Ruiz, for help.

“I knew immediately that our high-capacity Advanced split roller bearings would deliver significant time and cost savings,” said Kenneth. “The main Bagasse conveyors feed into two major boilers, which means removing large motors and gearboxes to access the bearings for inspection, maintenance and replacement – none of this would be necessary if Biscom switched to a high-capacity split roller bearing.”

Split to the shaft for faster installation

Split bearings eliminate the need for removing heavy ancillary equipment when accessing the bearings. They are split to the shaft and assembly radially, making them far easier and faster to install in trapped or space-limited applications.

Engr. Genaro Escarro, Mill Department Head for Biscom comments:

“Shutting down the plant for 24 hours every time a conveyor bearing needs replacing isn’t sustainable – we needed an alternative. Before the innovation of Bowman’s high-capacity split roller bearing, split bearings were not always capable of matching the performance and load carrying capacity of solid spherical bearings, but this is no longer the case.

When Kenneth told us that Bowman’s bearings could match the performance of our existing bearings, but provide a significant reduction in downtime, we were keen to perform an initial trial.”

Results

Kenneth provided onsite support and training during the installation of one trial unit. He removed the solid bearing and installed the new split bearing in just one hour – saving 23 hours of downtime.

After an initial assessment period, the mill team at Biscom were confident the Bowman Advanced split roller bearing was up to the challenge. They have since ordered further units for all their main line conveyor head shaft drives. Kenneth provides ongoing support and expertise for Biscom to ensure all potential downtime reductions are achieved.

Reduce your downtime