I work in the printing industry and a problem area has always been that the print cylinder bearings get contaminated by solvent-laden ink during press runs. These bearings have to be washed out, cleaned, and rebuilt regularly (big expense, and time involved),,,,these bearings are changed out by numerous people, numerous times possibly a day , thus very active....I realize it is a sealing problem possibly but these bearings are highly used....any ideas to a quick way to help prevent this problem !!!!!

Hello spainy, I was formerly employed as a Lubrication Mechanic for a major printing company. We experienced similar problems, however the solution I found was not an easy one. First of all to get anyone to change the way they do things is a major feat in itself, so just keep that in mind. The company used Heidleberg Harris offset and heatset presses so the use of solvents varied, however the seals for the bearings also varied. The bearing "cells" on the heatset presses had no seal to the inboard side of the bearings so my only option was to use grease as a seal to keep solvents and ink out of the cell, it took quite a bit. What type of lubricant are you using anyway? There is one problem with doing this, and that is excess grease gets slung around as the cylinder rotates so its best to do it during downtime when you can walk the press yourself. And check the compatibility between the grease or oil you use against the gearbox oil used on the drive side if in fact it becomes exposed also. I could spend a day with possibilities, but hopefully this will help you a little.

thanks for the reply and sorry for the delay,,,,presently we are using ROYAL PURPLE #2 in some AND EXXON UNIREX EP2 in others. I realize they are not compatiable and they aren't being mixed just used in different applications because of the different housing structures but I think the problem is present throughout over a period of time.

Spainy,
Check out www.bpb-co.com. I think they have a bearing design which will eliminate your contamination issues.

call thes guys 1-8--537-7683 (LE) They have techs willing to help with any problems. Great comapny, great products, we use them exclusively at Duke POwer. No complaints.


Georgiadoggy

chris nowlen

THANKS FOR THE INFO......I WILL GIVE THEM A CALL

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Originally posted by bentlyguy:
Spainy,
Check out http://www.bpb-co.com. I think they have a bearing design which will eliminate your contamination issues.

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THANKS,, I WILL CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Hi Spainy
Maybe we should leave the lubrication and examin whether it would be more controllable to filter the contamination away by the attachment of an oil polishing unit whilst the press in operating normally, this will continually remove the dirt and debris gaining entry when plate changing and other service events occur,
if possible to filter the cleaning is very good as all contaminating debris is on the move and can be caught.

The type of filter to use must be coalescing as a lot of this debris will be <5 µm,

A proven choice where you are would be gulf filters as filter cost low and don't forget to change filter every 1,000 litres or so to prevent channeling,

this should work well as these filters are used for removing the printers inks from solvents to allow reuse on the press so will remove all contaminates from the lubricant,

hope this assists

regards Rob S