Question

I keep losing my bearings on my motor, can the drive cause bearing failure?

Answer

70% of all bearing failures happen because of two reasons. The primary reason is lack of lubrication. The secondary reason is improper installation.

The easiest way to detect a problem bearing is by sound and touch. A potentially bad bearing will be louder and more prone to yield an increased amount of vibration. The most accurate way to detect this phenomena is with vibration analysis.

If a motor has a bad bearing, and it is not known how long the symptoms have existed, make sure to check the entire transmission system. Look at any gearboxes/reducers, clutches, brakes and couplings. These all could have been affected by the bad element.

The motor, if unchecked, will start to affect the drive by changing the load characteristics. The drive will eventually start to present current related trips. An overload condition will manifest itself. The way to verify the load difference is to de-couple the motor and run it unloaded. If the drive does not trip out, check the entire transmission system.

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FAQ Subcategory: None

This item was last updated on 2007-09-25
Document ID: 877

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