NSK: Bearings for the future of rail
NSK puts the future of rail in motion: innovation, performance and quality
NSK is accelerating its active cooperation
with European rail manufacturers, especi-
ally in the high-speed passenger train seg-
ment, bringing its innovations, performan-
ce and product quality to the market. One
of the products in the spotlight is a bea-
ring assembly for locomotive axles. NSK
has already supplied them successfully to
high-speed passenger trains operating in
France and the UK. In these trains, bea-
ring assemblies with tapered roller bea-
rings with a sealed RCT swivel plug prove
their reliability, long service life and safety.
RCT bearings d
They are highly integrated with surrounding
components and incorporate advanced
sealing mechanisms to ensure durability
and superior performance. It must be
mentioned that these innovative bearings
are suited to complex loading conditions,
including shock, high static and dynamic
radial loads and axial loads.
Bearings for traction motors d
A key element of traction motor bearings
is insulation. If a high voltage current flows
through the bearing, it can cause electro-
lytic corrosion on the bearing raceway
and rolling element surfaces, leading to
premature bearing failure.
To overcome this problem, NSK offers
a range of insulated bearings, including
cylindrical roller and ball bearings, whose
outer ring is coated with an optimised
plasma-sprayed ceramic corundum-based
coating. This insulating coating, which ex-
hibits high mechanical strength and can
handle heavy loads, increases reliability by
preventing any possibility of electrolytic
corrosion. The ceramic coatings applied
using a special process developed by NSK
have proven useful on a new generation
of high-speed passenger trains in Japan.
The latest innovation in traction motors
is NSK's hybrid ball bearings, which use
ceramic balls as rolling elements and are
suitable for applications where high elec-
trical isolation is required or high speeds
prevail. These hybrid bearings have the sa-
me load carrying capacity as standard ste-
el bearings, but exhibit less friction and
generate less centrifugal force, which
helps to increase their durability.
Another offering from NSK in this area is
PPS insulated bearings. The glass fibre re-
inforced polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) re-
sin functions as a coating on the outer di-
ameter and face surface of the bearing
outer ring and protects it against electro-
lytic corrosion. Although the physical pro-
perties of PPS are slightly inferior to those
of ceramics, the resin is less expensive,
making it ideal for the traction motors of
new-generation conventional passenger
trains.
Bearings for gearboxes d
Being suitable for a wide range of gearbox
designs, NSK bearings have high resistan-
ce to seizure, high resistance to shock and
vibration, low heat development and a
low-wear design that reduces lubricant
contamination and ensures longer bea-
ring life. The company has been supplying
tapered roller bearings for spiral gears
used in Japanese high-speed passenger
trains for decades.
Passenger trains of the latest generati-
ons are becoming ever faster, placing
high demands on bearings. NSK continu-
es to work with its rail industry partners,
both manufacturers and aftermarket com-
panies, to create products that can impro-
ve safety, performance and comfort while
reducing weight and cost. p
www.nsk.com
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Technika a trh 5/2023
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NSK puts the future of rail
in motion ... innovation,
performance and quality
NSK has introduced a complete set of bearing assemblies for use
in locomotive axles, traction motors and gearboxes.
NSK RCT tapered roller bearings with sealed swivel plug, used for locomotive axle bearings, have high reliability,
durability and safety
NSK's insulated bearings include bearings with optimised ceramic corundum-based coatings suitable for use in
locomotive traction motors
rail transport
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