Common causes of bearing failure in gearboxes

Gearbox failure can cause a complete machinery breakdown, expensive both in their subsequent repair and lost output. Catching signs of failing parts early can reduce downtime, save costs and improve machinery health. Here are some facts on the most common forms of machinery failure.

Downtime in the automotive industry is estimated to be $22,000 per minute

Detecting failures at the earliest stage minimises downtime from larger catastrophic failures.

The primary symptoms of overload include noise and vibration, increased temperatures, metallic chip debris and reduced equipment performance.

High temperatures from low oil level or overloading can lead to component damage such as fatigue spalling. 

Misalignment is estimated to cause 50% to 70%  of all machinery vibration problems.

Water contamination; 1% water ingress can shorten bearing life by as much as 90%

Heavily contaminated oil can shorten the life of a bearing by x 500.