Heaters for mounting

Incorrect mounting methods account for 16% of premature bearing failures

To reduce the risk of incorrect mounting, SKF helped pioneer the use of portable induction heaters for bearing mounting applications in the 1970’s. Since that time, there have been many advances in technology and SKF has been at the forefront in developing safer, more efficient and user-friendly bearing induction heaters.

SKF Induction heaters utilise advanced power electronics with application specific designs for high performance.


Heaters for mounting

Induction heating has many advantages over other bearing heating methods

Heating methods - Open flame
The use of an open flame (A) to heat a bearing is not only inefficient and uncontrolled, but often leads to bearing damage. This method should not be used.
Heating methods - Oil bath
Oil baths (B) are sometimes used to heat bearings. Oil baths often take a long time to reach the required temperature and can be difficult to control the actual bearing temperature. The energy consumption of an oil bath is also significantly greater than using an induction heater. The risk of contaminating the bearing due to dirty oil is significant and can lead to premature bearing failure. Handling hot, oily and slippery bearings present significant hazards to the operator and great care must be taken to avoid potential injuries.

Heating methods - Oven
Ovens (C) and hot plates are often used for batch heating of small bearings and this is an acceptable technique. However, for larger bearings, the use of ovens and hotplates is generally quite inefficient and time consuming and can present the operator with significant handling hazards.

Heating methods - Induction heating
Induction heaters (D) are the modern, efficient and safe way to heat bearings. In operation, they are generally faster, cleaner, more controllable, and easier to use than other heating methods.

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