Bearing failure prevention: Avoid Costly Failures of Your Systems

Slide bearings play a central role in modern industry. They ensure that your machines operate smoothly and efficiently. These small but important components keep everything in motion and make a significant difference.

For bearing failure prevention, there are a few simple tips to keep in mind.

In this article, we will show you:

  • What slide bearings need to function and what advantages they offer
  • What the most common bearing failures are
  • How we at Miba address these issues
  • How we at Miba can assist you with analysis and design expertise to help you to prevent bearing failure in the future.

What do slide bearings need to function, how do they prevent bearing failure, and what are their advantages?

Slide bearings are mechanical components that enable two surfaces to move relatively to each other with minimal friction and wear. They achieve this by minimizing friction and distributing the load evenly. Compared to other bearing types, especially hydrodynamic slide bearings operate by allowing two surfaces to slide against each other, separated by a lubricant film.

 

This simple yet effective technique offers many advantages:

  • High Load Capacity: These slide bearings can support very high loads (up to 160 MPa) because the entire bearing surface carries the load.
  • Vibration Damping: The sliding contact efficiently dampens vibrations, which is particularly beneficial in dynamic applications.
  • Long Service Life: With proper design and regular maintenance, these slide bearings can achieve a very long lifespan as they are less susceptible to fatigue.
  • Simple Design: Due to their straightforward construction, hydrodynamic slide bearings are less prone to failure, supporting effective bearing failure prevention and simplifying maintenance.
  • High Speed: Due to their flexible design and appropriate construction, they are suitable for high-speed applications (up to 120 m/s).
  • Dirt Resistance: The sliding surfaces are separated by the lubricant film during operation, and the flexible construction of the bearings helps embed particles.

 

In an optimal environment, they operate nearly frictionless and efficiently. However, if an unexpected problem occurs in the system, they are designed to fail first to prevent more significant damage. This targeted protection mechanism allows for early detection of issues, helping to avoid larger repair costs.

Find out more about our plain bearings on our axial and radial plain bearings product pages.

Common bearing failures and Miba’s bearing failure prevention

Based on bearing failures, precise conclusions can be drawn about the causes of system problems, simplifying diagnosis and maintenance. Hydrodynamic slide bearings thus provide not only protection but also valuable insights into the system's condition—ideal for reliable and long-term applications. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the most common bearing failures and implement bearing failure prevention measures early on to avoid costly downtime and extend the lifespan of your equipment.

 

1. Bearing Failure: Seizure

Seizure occurs when there is direct metal-to-metal contact. It is one of the most common causes of bearing failure in slide bearings and often happens due to insufficient lubrication or excessive loading. This leads to increased friction, overheating and ultimately wear.

 

Our recommendations for this case:

Regularly monitor bearing temperature: We assist you in selecting appropriate sensors to detect overheating early.

Regularly check operating conditions: We also support you in choosing the right bearing for the specific operating conditions to avoid failures.

2. Bearing Failure: Running-in marks

Running-in Marks occur due to mechanical wear, often resulting from inadequate lubrication during the running-in phase.

 

Here’s how we at Miba prevent this type of bearing failure:

Choosing the Right Bearing Design: We assist you in selecting the appropriate bearing and utilize special coatings that are suitable for the running-in phase.

 

3. Bearing Failure: Cavitation

Cavitation is generally caused by a local drop of the oil pressure below the vaporization pressure leading to the formation of oil bubbles. These bubbles collapse when carried into a higher pressure region, initiating a shock wave. Cavitation is generally promoted by low oil pressure, by high oil temperatures, by the presence of substances having a low boiling temperature (e.g. fuel) in the oil and by vibrations.

 

Our approach at Miba to avoid cavitation:

Regularly monitor the oil temperature: We assist you in designing the appropriate oil and monitoring system.

Regularly check the oil quality: We support you in determining the appropriate intervals and are happy to provide guidance on what to pay attention to.

4. Bearing Failure: Fatigue

Fatigue of slide bearings indicate structural weaknesses or overloading.

 

Our recommendation to bearing failure prevention:

Conduct precise load analyses: Our engineers focus on selecting the right bearing material, ensuring that the hydrodynamic slide bearing operates optimally.

 

5. Bearing Failure: Pitting

Pitting appears as small indentations on the surface, often caused by foreign particles in the lubricant. These particles can lead to abrasion and wear.

 

Here’s how we approach bearing failure prevention at Miba in such cases:

Cleaning the bearing environment before installation: Our engineers are happy to assist you with the appropriate installation guidelines for your system, ensuring that the bearing is optimally installed and functions correctly.

Regular inspections of the bearings and oil: We support you in determining the appropriate maintenance intervals and are happy to provide guidance on what to pay attention to.


     

6. Bearing Failure: Corrosion

Corrosion can occur when moisture or chemical liquids attack the slide bearing, or when the lubricant is contaminated by water or other substances, damaging the sliding surfaces.

 

Miba's solution approach against corrosion:

  • Regular inspections of the oil: We support you in determining the appropriate maintenance intervals and are happy to provide guidance on what to pay attention to.
  • Selecting corrosion-resistant materials: We assist you in choosing the right materials for the specific application.

 

 

How Miba helps with bearing failure prevention in the future

 

Individual consultation and design

Every system has its unique characteristics. That’s why it’s essential to tailor the hydrodynamic slide bearings perfectly to your specific requirements. No matter what the challenge is -

  • Extreme temperatures
  • High loads
  • Special environmental conditions
  • We take the time to thoroughly analyze your needs and develop flexible solutions. We also consider future developments and potential loads, ensuring that your machines operate optimally and without bearing damage at all times

 

Experienced Failure Analysis

Despite all precautions, bearing failure can sometimes occur. This is where our expertise comes into play: We not only provide assistance with preventive maintenance solutions but also support you when failures have already occurred.

Our failures analyses delve deep into the details to identify the exact cause. We reliably pinpoint the problem and quickly develop a solution.

 

Preventive Maintenance and Monitoring

Trust is good, but control is better. To prevent bearing failure in advance, we rely on the latest monitoring technologies.

With our condition monitoring, we can detect early signs of potential issues. Temperature measurements are just one of the methods we employ to keep your slide bearings in optimal condition. This helps you avoid costly downtime and ensures that your bearings last longer and operate reliably.

 

Employee Training

We provide you with comprehensive training and on-site support to help your employees recognize early signs of wear. This ensures that you are well-equipped to keep your machines in top condition at all times

Prevent bearing failure with the right partner for flexible solutions

Slide bearings are essential for the smooth operation of modern machines. With targeted measures, costly bearing damage can be avoided. These include:

  • Choosing the right bearing
  • Regular monitoring
  • Precise material selection
  • Employee training

 

Our extensive expertise provides you with flexible solutions that ensure the longevity and efficiency of your machines.

We look forward to working with you to find the best solution for your needs!

Contact us now!