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In a world first, NSK has introduced a new method of accurately predicting the lifespan of rolling bearings based on their size and the amount of non-metallic inclusions in the steel the bearings are made from. Going forward, NSK’s Angular Contact Ball Bearings, Cylindrical Roller Bearings, Deep Groove Ball Bearings and Tapered Roller Bearings will all see their lifespans increased, potentially even doubled, by this optimisation of basic dynamic load ratings. 

Load ratings are governed by the ISO 281:2007 standard, which states that when you test a batch of identical bearings, nine out of every ten need to make it through those million revolutions without issue. ISO 281 does allow for an increase in the service life under certain conditions, but in the past any modifications to the bearing had to be followed by a further battery of tests. NSK, however, has developed a non-destructive testing method for exactly these sorts of situations which makes it possible to dispense with further testing and allows the end user to benefit from a fundamental increase in the service life of their bearings.

Generally speaking, most people use a manufacturer’s existing catalogue to calculate bearing life. Alternatively they can usually input the external loads and the bearing information into a calculation programme. The basic calculation, however, is still carried out in accordance with ISO 281.This type of calculation has become the standard worldwide. However, since the methods of determining a bearing’s lifespan were developed and introduced (all the way back in 1962), material purity and manufacturing capabilities have both come on leaps and bounds. As a result, the actual service lifespan of a bearing tends to be quite a lot longer than that which is suggested by testing under ISO 281.

NSK’s solution has been to simplify things, bringing in computer-aided models alongside empirical tests. The basic idea is that we use these models as a ‘digital twin,’ with the ultimate aim of being able to dispense with service life tests with real, physical bearings and to determine changes to dynamic load ratings purely by means of digital evaluations.

NSK’s own internal research has shown that the composition and quality of bearing steel, in particular the proportion of the steel which is made up of non-metallic impurities, has a huge impact on a bearing’s service life, indeed is actually a more accurate indicator of its lifespan than the above calculation methods. Our engineers realised that an evaluation method based on fracture mechanics (a field of mechanics concerned with the study of the propagation of cracks in materials) could provide more meaningful insight.

The company worked with Kyushu University in Japan to develop a quantitative evaluation method that could determine which factors influenced the process of crack 

propagation in a PR Ref. C092024-N | 1/3 1/3 material, and to what extent. Notably, by combining the new method with an ultrasonic inspection technique that scans the non-metallic inclusions in a large volume of steel, NSK discovered it could predict the life of its bearings with much higher accuracy.

As a direct result, NSK has revised the basic dynamic load rating of many bearings with no change in design or materials, while still applying the appropriate safety margin to any uprated values. With this revision, the estimated life of radial roller bearings, for example, is up to twice that which it was before.

Even better, as the basic dynamic load ratings of bearings improves, they become suitable for use in higher load conditions, meaning that company’s can opt for smaller bearings which are still able to perform the same function of their larger counterparts. Obvious benefits include machine downsizing and weight reduction.

End users can rely on the fact that the new bearing life values are determined on the basis of a carefully studied methodology supported by an extensive empirical database. All new – and fundamentally higher – values will be within the safe range. NSK’s researchers and developers used a quantitative evaluation method to determine which factors or the number and size of impurities influence the process of crack propagation in a rolling bearing steel and to what extent. Computers with extreme computing power were used to run and analyse simulations.

www.nsk.com

“It is of great credit to all who have developed the company, its products and markets from success to success over this extended period of time. The founder, my father Norman Hart, could not have envisaged the diverse range of specialist doors that have been designed, manufactured and delivered not only within the UK but all over the World including Europe, Russia, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Far East.

“We have moved to World-class door designs from our beginnings which were the design and manufacture of shop blinds,” says Mr Hart. “There is no substitute for hard work and maintaining the core values enabling us to make the best available.

“These principals got us into the position we are now in. It is with great humility and pride that the business has moved into the next generation’s capable hands with my son Nicholas successfully carrying out the role of Manging Director.

“I never forget for one moment at the start of each New Year, that we are a global business headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne operating daily in over 50 countries world-wide such as the Falklands, North America, the Far East, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

“Further our product range now totals 20 door models and shutters for a wide range of manufacturing sectors both in this country and abroad. Each year is a year of opportunity for us to continue along this amazing path of achievement.

One of Hart’s many features is its global reach which sees its Speedor range of high speed doors and shutters in much demand along with Hart’s Terror Screen range of security shutters and Typhoon shutters tested to the highest wind resisting standards.

The company operates from its Grade A office headquarters and the adjoining manufacturing facilities at Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne.  The location offers rapid access to the region’s motorways and the nearby international airport.

“With continuing global uncertainties and the ever present debate on Climate Change I believe our leading Speedor and Typhoon brands have an important part to play in delivering suitable working environments and therefore both will continue to be in demand,” says Mr Hart.

“Fundamentals delivered by Hart continue to be quality throughout from manufacture to installation as well as service back-up. We are cognisant of Climate Change issues and the role played by both Hart and our clients to keep carbon footprints to a minimum and Speedor’s contribution by its high speed and automatic operation high to reducing carbon foot print is well known.” 

“Our Speedor brand was  Britain’s original automatic high speed door. Robustly engineered door system for frequent use in high-traffic situations, there are many thousands of Speedor installations in daily operation across the Globe.

“Built for long life, Speedors require low maintenance. Their high-speed opening and automatic action improve efficiency, the energy-saving potential of this high speed roll door is high, controlling internal temperatures, escaping dirt, odours and noise.

“Over long lasting robust construction, UK design and manufacture across all models, and storm offering large size and upgrades forand dirty environments coupled with  a unique guide system offering exceptional wind resistance up to class 5 as defined by DIN EN 12424. 

There are several model options with the Speedor brand namely ECO, Storm,  Smart, Mini, Conveyor and Cleanroom which together hazardous represent  Hart’s high-speed door offer, a roller door for all uses.

“Speedor Storm is Hart’s best-selling door, ideal for challenging applications where reliability is essential. Its increasing success is based on its improved, rugged, design predominately for external use up to 8m x 6m/6m x 8m often in robust operating conditions with high wind loads.

“We have always had quality and longevity as our prime driver and our success with new variants, not just in high-speed doors but shutters such as our new Typhoon range, the fundamentals are quality throughout manufacture to installation and service to comply with changing national and international safety standards.”

“Hart Door Systems is a global business supplying a range of door and shutter systems to sectors such as Airports, automotive, agriculture, communications, consumer foods, energy, environment, exports, food, logistics, manufacturing, power, sport, transport and utilities,” says Mr Hart.

“To underline our global success Hart’s doors can found in nearly 40 international airports, from Newcastle upon Tyne to the Falklands, from Aruba to Vladivostok. This is a remarkable achievement.”

Doug Hart

www.hartdoors.com

Process filter manufacturer Amazon Filters is set to feature at this year’s Oil & Gas Asia (OGA) industry conference and exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The UK firm is teaming up with regional distribution partner, a Bumiputera company and Petronas-registered vendor, Diamond Offshore SDN BHD.

Together the pair will share a stand and look to engage face to face with key decision makers in the oil, gas, energy and petrochemicals sectors.

Among the Amazon Filters exhibits on display will be a specially shipped 3D printed model of a mobile rental skid containing housing vessels and filter cartridges.

Mobile filter skids are versatile, integrated filtration units designed for rapid on-site deployment and emergency treatment across various applications.

In the oil and gas industries, skid usage includes reactor and catalyst protection, final product depollution, high-value process liquid recovery (amine), the maintenance of process water quality and proof of concept.

Specific filters under discussion on the stand will include SupaPleat, a high-flow, nylon-pleated cartridge product that supports fluid process applications at refineries including the filtration of solvents, acids, iron fines and hydrocarbons.

SupaPleat was the key product underpinning a solution implemented recently in a hydrotreating and hydrodesulphurisation process at a Malaysian petrochemical plant. Process engineers there had reported that their original filters had to be changed frequently.

Amazon Filters experts worked with them to test SupaPleat at production capacity and support their installation. Later analysis showed the solution had extended continuous onstream operational life by 600%.  

Also being highlighted is a liquid/gas coalescer, SupaSep, designed to enhance efficiency and drainage performance in high-flow filtration and separation processes. It is ideal for the removal of entrained liquid droplets such as water, condensate, oil, glycols and amines from natural gas. SupaSep is shown to be 99.99% efficient at removing aerosol particles, enabling liquid levels down to 1ppbw (parts per billion by weight).

Other products under discussion include newly launched sustainable polypropylene versions of Amazon Filters’ flagship meltblown filter ranges SupaSpun II, SupaGard, Contour and Contour Gas which are all used in critical filtration processes in oil and gas.

In harsh offshore conditions, SupaSpun II’s SRP-optimised grades provide essential pre-filtration for sulphate reduction membranes. The cartridge structure is designed for optimal seawater membrane protection through decades of development. This ensures longer operating life and higher levels of performance compared with cartridges not tailored against this specific application. 

And both SupaSpun II and the spun-bonded, nominal-rated SupaGard are supported by KilBac technology, featuring high-performance antimicrobial and antialgal additives. KilBac harnesses micron-sized particles containing active silver, zinc and copper which, combined with a base polymer, combat the growth of bacteria or algae. The resistance to biological growth extends the operational life of the filters by addressing the risk of ‘grow-through’ and subsequent downstream contamination.

Members of Amazon Filters’ Kuala Lumpur-based sales team, Mohamed Nizam Mohamed Hanifa and Muhamad Syakir Samsudin, will be at OGA along with senior representatives of Diamond Offshore.

Nizam said: “We look forward to speaking face to face with oil and gas operators, from upstream to downstream, including oilfield service companies who support FPSOs and deepwater drilling. It’s all about helping customers to maximise processing and refining performance, improve output purity and stay cost effective. By aligning with the imperatives of durability, energy savings, sustainability and local support, we aim to position Amazon Filters and Diamond Offshore as not only suppliers but long-term partners.”

Fazli Ibrahim, Diamond Offshore’s Malaysian-based Chief Executive, said: “Together we will demonstrate a suite of advanced filtration products designed to meet the demands of global oil and gas operations. We will highlight the benefits of innovative, energy-efficient filtration solutions for performance, productivity and sustainability in the most challenging operating environments and across upstream, midstream and downstream processes.”

Now in its 21^st year, OGA includes exhibitions, conferences and networking sessions with involvement from partners such as the Malaysian Petrochemicals Association and the Malaysian Oil, Gas & Energy Services Council. 

OGA takes place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia, on 2 to 4 September 2025.

For more information on how Amazon Filters benefits the oil and gas sector, visit www.amazonfilters.com/oil-and-gas-filtration.

Major study of 190 professionals reveals ten critical obstacles plaguing British industry – from workforce exodus to reactive culture addiction

A new study has exposed the scale of Britain's maintenance crisis, revealing that UK organisations are haemorrhaging £23 billion annually through reactive maintenance practices while facing an unprecedented workforce exodus.

The research, conducted by the internationally acclaimed MAINSTREAM Community, surveyed 190 maintenance and reliability professionals across 70 leading organisations including Rolls-Royce, BP, United Utilities, BAE Systems, and Network Rail. The findings paint a sobering picture of an industry in crisis.

"We're seeing a perfect storm," explains the research team. "Twenty-seven percent of maintenance engineers are over 55, with 38% of technical specialists retiring within five years. Meanwhile, companies face an annual shortfall of up to 59,000 engineering graduates."

The data reveals systemic failures across the sector. UK organisations spend 55% of maintenance budgets on reactive work – nearly double the 35% global benchmark. Schedule compliance averages just 68%, well below the 85% best practice standard. Most damaging, 83% of improvement initiatives fail beyond 18 months due to cultural resistance.

Perhaps most shocking: organisations lose £240,000 in productivity per retiring specialist due to undocumented knowledge, while only 24% formally align maintenance with corporate strategy.

Now, solutions are coming to Birmingham. MAINSTREAM UK, taking place October 20-21, 2025, represents the first time this transformational community – responsible for three decades of industry evolution across Australia, New Zealand, and the US – brings its expertise to British shores.

The speaker lineup reads like a who's who of global maintenance excellence. Christer Idhammar, the 'Godfather of Reliability' from IDCON, headlines alongside Mars Inc's Global Maintenance Leader Ron Rieger and NASA Flight Director Ed Van Cise. Industry legend Drew Troyer from Reliable magazine joins Toyota's retired Head of Maintenance Engineering Ed Welch.

Crucially, international expertise combines with UK industry leaders. United Utilities' Chief Maintenance Officer Phil White shares strategies with Bentley Motors' Head of Maintenance Jonathan Peedell. Drax Power Station's Richard Barber brings energy sector insights, while Finsbury Food Group's Jo Gillard offers manufacturing perspectives. National Gas's Steven Vallender and Manchester Airport Group's James Ayre complete a formidable UK contingent.

"This isn't theoretical," emphasises the organising team. "Every session directly addresses our research-identified challenges. When you have 58% of organisations abandoning AI projects and 76% of executives viewing maintenance as a cost centre, individual solutions aren't enough."

The event features 40 targeted case studies, five specialised learning tracks, intensive workshops, and a 25-partner technology expo – all designed around the ten critical challenge areas. Attendees receive exclusive access to the complete research findings, representing the most comprehensive maintenance intelligence ever compiled for UK industry.

Beyond the two-day summit, MAINSTREAM UK offers year-round community access, recognising that transformation requires sustained collaboration.

"We're not just addressing symptoms," notes the research team. "We're tackling root causes identified through rigorous analysis of companies managing billions in assets across manufacturing, utilities, energy, and transportation."

For an industry losing billions to preventable failures while facing a demographic cliff edge, MAINSTREAM UK offers something unprecedented: research-backed solutions delivered by proven transformational leaders.

MAINSTREAM UK takes place October 20-21, 2025, Birmingham. Full details at

https://www.mainstreamcommunity.com/uk-summit/home

BETE’s ability to engineer and design quality nozzles for any spray application is not only an advantage; it’s a resource for customers. BETE offers a world-class spray research laboratory to help customers solve challenging and critical problems or validate research and development. With tools like physical spray testing, computer modeling, and in-house manufacturing and fabrication abilities, BETE’s Spray Lab helps to ensure solution confidence for industrial processes.

BETE’s Lab Services can handle every step of the process when designing a spray system. Working with the customer to determine objectives and constraints, BETE Engineers utilize their extensive knowledge of fluid dynamics to identify the ideal solution. Using physical testing, they analyze factors such as droplet size, spray reach and spray angle. Afterwards, the engineer will model solutions using their computational fluid dynamics software to understand how it would work in a customer’s process. And with manufacturing next door to the lab, design will work hand in hand with manufacturing to build custom solutions from the ground up.

BETE’s Advanced Spray Engineering Services is one of the many resources available to customers. They can test everything from how a misting nozzle would help a process to designing fully automated spray systems for massive industrial processes. Take advantage of BETE’s expertise by contacting their spray laboratory and scheduling a visit to learn more about the products and services their performance spray engineering has to offer. https://exair.co/190-blab

Industrial process heating equipment and solutions specialist Babcock Wanson Group has launched the PowerPack firetube boiler series which combines the latest technology in boiler design with very high efficiency, resulting in low operating costs and reduced emissions that not only meet the latest European environmental legislation, but can exceed it when fitted with Babcock Wanson combustion equipment.  Babcock Wanson manufacture the boiler, burner, combustion control system and boiler controls providing a single point of responsibility and perfectly matched design. 

Available for steam outputs from 10,000 kg/h to 34,000 kg/h, PowerPack’s high performance is attributable to the precise match between the combustion head and burner for meticulous control of excess air throughout the modulating range and minimum start/stop cycles.  It has also been designed for low electrical consumption, thanks to the very low gas side pressure drop which dramatically reduces the electrical consumption of fans, further enhanced by the variable speed combustion air and feedwater drives. Efficiency can be further enhanced by up to 103% (on LHV) when a PowerPack boiler is specified in conjunction with a Babcock Wanson economiser and heat recovery system.

A further environmental benefit to the PowerPack range of boilers is their long life, thanks to robust construction.  Featuring a three-pass design with a flue gas tubular reversing chamber, unique to Babcock Wanson, these new boilers are not only highly efficient but remarkably reliable. PowerPack boilers do not require furnace tube tie rods which require regular replacement, and minimises boiler refractory requirements.  This design allows high variations of steam demand whilst minimising mechanical stress on the pressure body for a long, reliable operational life.

When maintenance is required, PowerPack boilers provide easy tubeplate and furnace tube access via large, easy use doors on the boiler front and lateral openings. A rear inspection port also provides enhanced access. A two-level platform provides safe access to boiler mountings and ease of maintenance and operation.

PowerPack boilers are fitted with high quality instrumentation and controls for easy and economic operation.  These include the Navinergy system which allows local operation via the boiler HMI and remote monitoring through a web interface, plus Babcock Wanson’s exclusive unattended operation modes (three days, seven days and even 30 days of continuous operation within authorised limits).

Highly versatile, PowerPack boilers come with a range of options including economisers, combustion air pre-heaters, O₂ and CO trim and even superheater variants.

The PowerPack firetube boiler is the latest addition to Babcock Wanson’s range of firetube boilers.  In addition to these, Babcock Wanson offers a complete range of products and services for boiler houses and other process heating needs, including coil type steam generators, thermal fluid heaters, hot water boilers, water tube boilers, VOC and odour treatment by thermal oxidation, water treatment and process air heating solutions.  The company aims to help optimise customer’s energy production with high quality products and efficient service.

For more information, please contact Babcock Wanson on 020 8953 7111 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or go to https://www.babcock-wanson.com/products/fire-tube-steam-boilers/powerpack/

Previous editorials have highlighted the unwelcome effects of unbalance in rotating machinery. Basically, unbalanced machines require a lot of additional energy to run and at the same time cause damage to their bearings. This is because an unbalanced rotor results in a large RADIAL force that effectively crushes the bearings.

However, another equally damaging and power hungry machine fault is misalignment, such as could arise in couplings between pumps and their motors. This is because mislignment also results in large RADIAL forces that effectively crush the bearings.

Clearly, both unbalance and misalignment need to be avoided but how can they be detected?

As explained in previous editorials, a high level of vibration at the machine’s running speed is a good indication of unbalance. This is because in an unbalanced rotor the centre of gravity does not coincide with the centre of rotation. This results in the CofG acting as a “heavy spot” that produces a vibration as it spins around the centre of rotation. The more out of balance the rotor, the larger the resultant vibration.

In adition, a high level of vibration in a frequency band centred at TWICE the running speed is a good indication of misalignment. This is based on the fact that shaft misalignment usually results in double peaking in the waveform due to there now being TWO different centres of gravity (one from each shaft). In other words a vibration sensor (accelerometer) will detect a peak as each CofG passes by. Hence there will be TWO positive and TWO negative peaks for each revolution of the shaft. This typically results in a waveform shaped like M’s and W’s (as illustrated) giving a vibration signal at double the running speed of the machine.

How misalignment might appear on the screen of a typical low cost, handheld vibration analyser, such as the TPI 9070, is shown in the screenshot alongside the waveform. In this example the presence of a high vibration of 5.5 mm/sec at 2X run speed is a good indication of misalignment. It is this ability to analyse vibration, so that its likely cause can be identified, that sets apart vibration analysers like the TPI 9070, from simple vibration meters.

So, having identified the existence of misalignment, what can we do about it? The answer is to re-align the coupling, typically by using shims under the mounting bolts. Fortunately, low-cost, easy to use precision alignment tools are now readily available, such as Easy-Laser’s XT series of laser alignment systems.

Test Products International (TPI) manufactures a complete range of low cost, high performance, and easy to use vibration analysis tools for maintenance engineers. All are incredibly easy to use, from the £570 one-button-to-press, TPI 9070 (illustrated) to state-of-the-art units that include easy to use rotor balancing. 

For more information, please contact TPI Europe on +44 1293 530196 or www.tpieurope.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.