Application orientation is the key of our bearings: Timken India

Bearings are the most critical components of any construction and mineral processing equipment. The components are exposed to vagaries of weather and the harsh site conditions based on the applications of the equipment. Hence, it is quite pertinent that bearings are engineered to well acclimatize to the working conditions and provide uptime to the equipment along with reducing cost of equipment, Mr. Kuntal Dasgupta, General Manager- Sales, Timken India Limited, in a recent interaction with P.P. Basistha spoke on the key features of the Timken bearings and their ability to synchronize with the present day compact designs of the equipment along with delivering longer maintenance cycles to the equipment.

Engineering to deliver extended maintenance intervals
Owing to the ever rising compressed job schedules and project cost, it is quite essential that construction equipment delivers higher uptime and reduces maintenance costs. It becomes more challenging if the equipment works in slurry and dusty site environments. Majority of the Mining & Construction equipments exposed to severe conditions in India, are at par with the site conditions anywhere in the world. The bearing has to undertake high impact loads and needs to deliver optimum performance without breaking down. Along with the bearings we have centralized Lubrication System which delivers grease to the shafts, bearings and critical points based on end-user requirements. One of the prominent features of the bearings is that they are engineered to fit in the shafts and also undergo appropriate greasing supplied by the centralized lubrication system, making Timken the preferred brand for major construction and mining Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's). We have worked with heavy truck manufacturers to provide wheel end solutions that is expected to last upto 5 lakh kilometers without having to change the grease or seals.

What are the other key engineering attributes of your bearings?
One of the key features of the Timken bearings for the off-highway segment is case-carburized bearings to take care of the shock loads and the debri environment. Timken bearings are designed with a "Power Dense" concept where we provide maximum capacity with minimum envelope size. The internal geometry of the bearings is designed to suit application requirements such as race profiling to take care of high application misalignments and enhanced surface finish to enable the bearings to work under marginal lubrication conditions. Timken bearings are made of cleaner steel which improves fatigue life. We also have enhanced products such as "Debri-Resistant" bearings, P900 bearings, and Dura-spexx bearings to take care of specific application challenges. Timken also has pre-set bearings which eliminate manual setting at the customer premises or in the field thus eliminating bearing issues related to setting and also reduced lead time in assembly. Timken has a wide product range with TRB, CRB and SRB's catering to the different Off-highway applications. The combination of Timken product performance with our engineering expertise and analysis capabilities delivers solutions that customers can rely on.

Are bearings marketed to OEMs or replacement market?
Timken addresses OEM requirements through direct route & aftermarket requirements through authorized Channel Partners.

What about product & site support?
We have 61 manufacturing facilities and 5 Research facilities across the world of which one research facility is in Bangalore.

Timken offers application engineering support to help customers select and analyze bearings based on known input conditions. Assistance can also be provided to validate customer-selected bearings and perform bearing damage analysis. A proprietary Timken-designed analytical tool called SYBERTM is used for this purpose. Service Engineering brings Timken innovation and know-how on site to our customers across the globe. Collaborating with design and application engineers, distributors, and customer maintenance and service staff, we work together to ensure that our products and the machines in which they are installed operate effectively. We believe in a hands-on approach to solving any technical issue that may be experienced in the field. We also offer help and advice regarding appropriate maintenance procedures and preventative maintenance practices. With more than 110 years of engineering expertise and our unmatched product reliability, we are able assist customers in upgrading and optimizing equipment performance which in turn builds long lasting relationship with the Timken customer.