Gearboxes are an industrial workhorse that are essential to the operation of critical processes in all paper mills. Due to the nature of these processes, these reducers are exposed to severe contamination threats from water, pulp, dirt, etc. Once this contamination finds its way into the gear oil, it is only a matter of time before the bearings fail and a full machine shutdown is required.
The traditional solution has been to protect the gearbox with a lip seal. Lip seals use the shaft as the primary sealing surface and apply a significant amount of pressure at the point of contact. This, of course, leads to wear on the shaft surface (see figure below). Significant enough wear can occur within months of when the gearbox is commissioned to allow a clear path for contamination ingress and lubrication egress. This means losing critical oil volume while at the same time contaminating the bearings.
There’s a better solution!
Isomag seals use lapped face technology in combination with magnetic energy to create the longest lasting, liquid-tight bearing seal available in industry today. This allows pulper gearboxes to maintain a constant volume of ultra-clean oil, increasing the life of the bearings and the gears. Isomag will seal reliably regardless of the gearboxes orientation: horizontal, vertical-up or vertical-down. Where lip seal’s see an average lifespan of 3,000 hours of continuous run time, Isomag’s will see over 75,000 hours. With Isomag there’s no more premature bearing failures and no more oil leaks. You can say goodbye to all those diapers sitting around your gearbox, catching the oil egressing out of your lip seals.
In summary, Isomag:
Prevents the egress of lubrication
Prevents the ingress of contamination
Reduces the frequency of gearbox rebuilds
Increases the L10 bearing life
A brochure for Isomag bearing isolators for gearboxes can be found here. Also as a reminder, Isomag bearing isolators can be custom made to fit your machine. Contact our customer service team and we will help you find the ideal solution for your needs.