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The Boral Brick plant operates 128 kiln cars that carry ingredients through a kiln in order to harden and produce brick. Fully loaded, the kiln cars weigh approximately 12 tons.
Challenge
The bearings in the kiln cars failed because the “high temperature” commercial grease being used broke down and hardened in the bearings under the high-temperature conditions. The kiln reaches temperatures over 2,000°F (1,093°C), while the area under the kiln car – where the bearings are located – reaches up to 500°F (260°C). This caused the need for frequent lubrication, which included the tasks of hammering out hardened zerk fittings and chiseling old grease out of the bearings. To relube all of the cars, it took the lube technician 10 hours per day for eight days each month. At $16 per hour, the labor dedicated to re-lubrication was costing approximately $1,280 per month or $15,360 per year.
Even with the frequent relubrication, they were experiencing an average of two kiln car bearing failures per month, causing even more downtime. An average of 80 hours per year were spent by mechanics and lube technicians rebuilding or replacing damaged bearings and wheels.
Grady McClellan, plant manager, and Alan Autrand, maintenance manager, asked LE’s local lubrication consultant Mark Jones for help in solving their kiln car bearing failures.
-2017 China(Guangzhou) Int’l Bearing and Equipment Exhibition
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