Reworking Bearing Housings with SKF

In the current casting process, unavoidable defects like porosities and cavities result in the scrapping of many housings. This not only represents a significant financial loss but also contributes to waste and inefficiency. Given the importance of seamless housing contact surfaces for the durability of bearings, defects in these areas lead to reduced product quality and reliability. Being able to rework the defects on the surfaces of housings and amend the cavities will lead to higher output and shorter lead times, improving sustainability & profitability. Moreover, there is potential to expand this approach as a service to remanufacture competitors’ housings, offering new business opportunities and enhancing customer value through high-quality, cost-effective solutions. The ability to rework and repurpose housings can contribute to a more circular economy, aligning with SKF’s broader sustainability goals. 

We are seeking innovative materials and techniques for reworking cast defects in the form of porosities & cavities on the surfaces of SKF bearing housings. The ideal solution could involve developing a composite resin capable of filling porosities and cavities in its viscoelastic phase, that is then transformed into a robust adhesive material with mechanical properties suited for bearing housings. While we are open to exploring various alternatives that could help solve the challenge, the solution must be cost-effective, scalable, and capable of integrating into existing manufacturing and supply chain processes. The requested solution can be viewed as consisting of two parts; a process and a product. The process is the method by which a defect is identified and corrected, whereas the product is the material used to correct the defect. The process must be cost & time-efficient, scalable, and capable of integrating into existing manufacturing and supply chain processes. Meanwhile, the product must mimic the base material of the bearing housing and comply with requirements on environmental suitability, thermal characteristics and material properties to ensure that the high standards of quality in SKF products is maintained.

SKF is the world’s largest bearing manufacturer, with 17,000 distributors in 130 countries. Collaborating with SKF on reworking the housings presents an opportunity to contribute to reducing scrap rates, lowering CO2 emissions and improving the efficiency of industrial manufacturing at a large scale. We want to work together and provide you with valuable learnings that enable your company further opportunities within the industry.