SKF launches the world＇s first hybrid bearing life model

The Generalized Bearing Life Model (GBLM) developed by SKF will ensure that company users and dealers always choose the right bearings for the right application.
So far, it is difficult for engineers to predict whether hybrid bearings will perform better than steel bearings in specific applications, or whether the performance advantages of hybrid bearings are worth their extra investment.
Since the conventional equations used by engineers to calculate the rated life of bearings do not reflect the true performance of hybrid bearings, in order to solve this problem, SKF engineers began to develop into a generalized bearing life model (GBLM) in 2012.
Although the main version of the model was introduced at HANNOVER MESSE in 2015, at this stage the model is not yet ready to take on the computational tasks of hybrid bearings. Because SKF Holland and Austrian companies still need four years to integrate this function into the general bearing life model.
Using a generalized bearing life model, engineers can determine the practical advantages that a hybrid bearing can have. For example, if it is a poorly lubricated pump bearing, the rated life of the hybrid bearing will be eight times that of a steel bearing. At the same time, for screw compressor bearings operating with contaminated lubricants, the service life of hybrid bearings will be one hundred times that of conventional steel bearings.
At present, the ability to select bearings through SKF Bearings has been provided to SKF users and distributors. Bearings selected from SKF Bearings can be used as hybrid deep-groove ball bearings and hybrid cylindrical roller bearings.