vesconite
- January 11, 2023
A global petrochemical company ordered 20 large pump bushings made of Vesconite Hilube, a premier-grade bearing material.
The bushings were placed into vertical-turbine pumps which supply sea water to a petrochemical plant for cooling purposes.
The order for suction, line-shaft and pump-bowl bushings, consisted of bushings of significant size, with outside diameters ranging from 6.70 inches to 9.00 inches, inside diameters from 5.30 inches to 7.00 inches, and lengths from 7.00 inches to 9.50 inches.
“Vesconite Bearings has significant experience in providing
- March 18, 2022
A drop-size carrot sorter, with Vesconite plain bearings installed on its conveyor chains, has worked well at a large carrot producer for two years.
The carrot producer installed the bearings on one of its two processing lines to test whether the processing line with Vesconite performed better than the standard processing line.
Since installation, the carrot farm processor reports that Vesconite bearings on its conveyor chains have reduced wear and resulted in quieter operation.
A drop-size sorter consists of a mainframe with sprockets on each side. A chain runs on the sprockets and a polyethylene plate is attached. Rollers, spaced increasingly further apart, are located on the polyethylene plate and carrots, depending on their size, fall through the differently-spaced rollers into bins below.
- November 12, 2021
Vesconite Hilube bowl, stuffing box, suction, and line-shaft bearings continue to operate in a condensate pump ten years after installation.
This long-standing Vesconite customer located in Virginia reported the success to pump representative Charlie Simpson in October 2021.
The customer is a pump repair workshop that offers timely and cost-effective repairs and specifically offers upgrades to shafting, bearings, and wear rings to enhance performance and efficiency in older pumps as well as repairs and rebowls vertical turbine pumps.
- February 03, 2021
Vesconite's Hitemp 160 - Innovative New High Temperature Bearing Material
A pump containing three sleeve bearings made from a new bearing material, Hitemp 160 − which can operate to temperatures up to 160°C (320°F) and is resistant to abrasive material − has been tested in a pump that has received South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) certification.
“The pump manufacturer tested and later concluded Vesconite's proprietary Hitemp 160 material, which has excellent abrasive properties, negligible water swell, and allows the pump to run dry periodically, is working well under the conditions encountered in the mine.”
The new material fills a gap in the market for high-temperature bearings that are able to operate to 160°C in immersed conditions.
- October 22, 2020
Vesconite Hilube is a bearing material specially designed for long life, low maintenance bearings and bushes.
Vesconite Hilube is internally lubricated with advanced solid lubricants to give a very low friction, even without additional grease or other lubrication.
Vesconite Hilube Wear Ring Benefits:
- No water swell
- Superior performance
- Extended wear life
- Low friction
- High load-bearing strength
- Dimensional stability
- Temperature limits
- Shaft friendly
- Chemical resistance
Vesconite Wear Rings Improve Pump Efficiency
Independent tests by a major pump manufacturer prove corrosion-free Vesconite Hilube wear rings safely allow reduced running clearances and improve pump efficiency.
Bronze casing wear rings with a clearance of 0.3 mm were tested against no-swell Vesconite Hilube at 0.1 mm.
- September 22, 2020
Moves away from bronze and rubber bearings have boosted the expansion and usage of Vesconite Hilube across the world. Vesconite lasts longer, wears less, requires less maintenance, and doesn’t require lubrication. This makes it suitable for different applications, in different industries, and on different continents.
Take the U.S. market for example.
“A state like California has banned lead so you cannot sell a bronze product. People have to find an alternative,” says Vesconite Bearings’ technical representative, Charlie Simpson. “Vesconite is getting more and more business as people move away from bronze and rubber bearings.”
Vesconite doesn't need lubrication which helps bearings last longer
Simpson says Vesconite has seen steady growth in sales from the US over the last two years. Some of this is due to the need for an alternative product; much is due to the benefits of the product, such as increased efficiency.
Simpson says the companies in the US are willing to test and try new things. “If they can get five percent more efficiency they will go for it.”
Because Vesconite doesn’t need lubrication, bearings last longer. That means less downtime, less maintenance and fewer stoppages. The end result is increased efficiency.
- August 28, 2020
A large food-processing company replaced several of the polyethylene plates on its rotary vacuum filters with plates made of the low-friction, high-compressive strength polymer known as Vesconite Hilube.
Rotary vacuum filters are used for dewatering, washing and clarification, and rely on a vacuum to suck the water content out of a slurry mixture in which a vacuum drum rotates. After dewatering is completed, a dry cake remains on a cloth-covered drum, while the clarified liquid in the drum is transported out of the drum through a series of pipes.
Vesconite Hilube wear plates have been successfully used at the interface between the vacuum drum and the exiting pipes at the client's facility.
The processor’s mechanical department maintenance coordinator informs that the 800-millimetre-diameter (31.5 inches) 25-millimetre-thick (1 inch) Vesconite Hilube wear plates need to ensure that there is an adequate seal that prevents the liquid from leaking.
They also need to have sufficient compressive strength to be secured by a trunnion plate, he says, noting that the equipment agent’s wear plates were of a much softer material and that this resulted in wear and eventual leaking.
In addition, they need to have the correct pipe exiting alignment, with 16 holes in place for some of the rotary vacuum drum designs and 14 for other of the designs.
Testing continues to verify the comparative wear life of the polyethylene wear plates and their replacement Vesconite Hilube wear plates.
The processing company’s maintenance coordinator reports that the Vesconite Hilube plates have outlasted the polyethylene plates, but the exact wear life of both the polyethylene and Vesconite Hilube wear plates is unknown.
- July 24, 2020
Vesconite Hilube can last up to ten times the life of bronze
Vesconite Hilube is a thermopolymer, designed for particularly difficult operating environments. Hilube is specifically recommended for moist and underwater applications. These include the pump and marine industry, where regular maintenance is not practically feasible or cost-effective. Displaying superior wear life, especially in poorly lubricated and dirty conditions, Vesconite Hilube has been shown to offer up to ten times the life of bronze bushings.
Vesconite Hilube incorporates an internal lubricant that translates into an exceptionally low friction coefficient. With excellent dimensional stability, low wear rates, and a high load-bearing capacity, Hilube excels in difficult applications.
Vesconite Hilube has been used for decades in a wide range of specialized pump bearing applications.
The material thrives in water, keeping to machined sizes without swelling and with zero delamination.
Other advantages are that it does not corrode, and helps prevent the corrosion between metal components especially in salt water; is resistant to oils and fuels; and is easy to machine, fit and remove – and prolongs shaft life.
In addition, it allows dry startup for up to 1 minute.
Vesconite Hilube is recommended for most pump bearing applications, such as:
- April 22, 2020
Vesconite Hilube Saves Energy Costs for Pump OEM
The installation of Vesconite Hilube wear rings can result in electricity savings that more-than-pay for the wear ring.
This was the result of a study by a large pump original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that compared energy usage on a typical submersible pump when Vesconite Hilube wear rings were in place versus stainless steel wear rings that had been previously installed.
Vesconite Hilube is a low-friction wear-resistant polymer. Wear rings made from the material are designed to seal the pressure leakage of the liquid between the inlet and the impeller and the pump casing, and should result in a higher pumping efficiency due to lower by-pass.
Vesconite Bearing technical pump consultant Phillip de
- February 18, 2020
One of Vesconite's customers, a large independent polyurethane and plastic foam manufacturer, restarted an important gear pump without difficulty after the company's closed period from December through January. This gear pump is used to pump glue to rebound foam chips.
Because it pumps viscous adhesive liquid at one of the company’s two chip plants, the gear pump can fail to restart if component parts are immobilized by glue after a long period of inactivity.
Viking Pump Restarts With Ease With Hilube
However, with the introduction of Vesconite Hilube polymer bushings in the well-known Viking internal gear pump, the company’s pump restarted with ease.
Not only that, the Vesconite Hilube pump bushings, which were inspected at