At the InnoTrans 2022 international transport technology trade show (September 20-23, Berlin), NSK will showcase a complete package of bearing solutions for axle boxes, CER engines and transmission applications. The company is particularly active in the high-speed passenger transport segment.
It is accelerating its active relationship with European rail OEMs and will use InnoTrans Hall 20 Stand 260 to showcase product innovations, performance and quality. Among the many products, NSK's axle box bearing solutions will stand out and be the center of attention. With its RCT sealed tapered roller bearings, the company has already achieved success in the areas of reliability, long service life and safety in high-speed rail passenger transport systems in France and the United Kingdom.
NSK's RCT bearings are highly integrated with all their components and feature advanced sealing mechanisms to ensure durability and exceptional performance. These innovative bearings are particularly capable of adapting to complex load conditions including high impact loads, static and radial loads and axial loads.
In another section of its 40m² stand, NSK will present its solutions for CER engines. The key feature of CER motor bearings is insulation. High current conduction through the bearing can cause electrolytic corrosion in the bearing raceway and rolling element contact surfaces that will cause premature bearing damage.
NSK offers several different designs to meet this challenge, including cylindrical roller bearings and deep groove ball bearings with ceramic coated outer rings based on optimized alumina plasma sprayed. This insulating coating, which exhibits high mechanical strength and can carry high loads, increases reliability by preventing wear due to electrolytic corrosion. NSK's ceramic coating process continues to prove itself every day on Japan's latest generation Shinkansen high-speed passenger trains.
For CER engine applications where first-rate electrical isolation is required and/or high speeds are demanded, one of the latest innovations is NSK hybrid deep groove ball bearings, which use ceramic balls as rolling elements. With the same load-carrying capacity as standard steel bearings, NSK's hybrid deep groove ball bearings reduce friction and generate less centrifugal force to help extend service life. Thus, maintenance costs can be reduced due to increased grease life.
Another solution from NSK in this area is PPS insulated bearings. Glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin acts as a coating on the outer diameter and outer ring flanks of the bearing outer rings to protect against electrolytic corrosion. While the physical properties of PPS are slightly lower than ceramic, the resin material is more economical, making it ideal for the next generation of conventional passenger trains equipped with A/C CER engines.
NSK will also present transmission bearing solutions at InnoTrans. The company will showcase a mock-up of a locomotive transmission featuring a range of innovative bearings. Suitable for a wide variety of gearbox designs, NSK's solutions for this application feature high seizing resistance, high impact and vibration resistance, low heat generation and high wear resistance that increases fatigue life. NSK has supplied tapered roller bearings for helical gears in Japan's high-speed passenger trains for many years.
Besides bearings, the NSK stand will offer InnoTrans visitors the opportunity to see a highly sensitive and highly efficient NSK ball screw actuator as a solution for active vibration control in rolling stock. In another area of the stand, one of the NSK group
part of B&K Vibro, and will showcase the state-of-the-art VCM-3 condition monitoring system and AS-064 acceleration sensors that enable vital data collection for effective maintenance strategies.
The new generation of passenger trains is getting faster and faster, which places higher demands on bearing technologies. NSK continues to work with rail industry partners in both the OEM and aftermarket sectors to create products that can improve safety, performance, comfort, weight and cost efficiency. InnoTrans visitors are invited to meet with NSK's expert team to discuss special projects or applications.
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