SKF has centralized the production of bearings with Solid Oil to promote timely delivery throughout North America and has introduced enhanced formulas to benefit more applications across industries. These bearings are filled with an oil-saturated polymer matrix, which creates a consistent lubricant supply able to withstand very cold temperatures (down to -65º F and -53º C), aggressive chemicals, contaminants, and high centrifugal forces. The polymer matrix contains two- to four-times more lubricating oil than standard grease-filled bearings and the bearings never have to be re-lubricated. As a result, maintenance lubrication challenges are eliminated, especially benefiting applications where the accessibility to manually lubricate bearings is unsafe, impractical, and/or impossible.
SKF manufacturing capabilities for bearings with Solid Oil have been newly housed at the strategically located SKF Solution Factory in Cleveland, OH, resulting in advanced production and quicker delivery timelines anywhere in the USA and Canada. Virtually any standard SKF bearing type (including stainless steel) can be equipped with Solid Oil, which both provides required lubricant to a bearing and acts as an extremely effective seal by completely filling a bearing’s cavity. Seals for lubricant retention become unnecessary.
The enhanced portfolio of Solid Oil formulas expands bearing solutions for the most critical and formidable applications. These include food processing equipment (with two NSF H1 registered compounds available), cranes, machinery, and conveyors where manual greasing would raise safety issues, and any application subjected to dirt or humidity, aggressive chemicals, extreme contamination and/or other adverse conditions that could jeopardize conventional lubricant.
A variety of additives, such as rust inhibitors, can be specified into the mix for increased protection and customized product solutions can be developed to meet especially demanding requirements.