Quick turn-around bearing change
CASE STUDY: Main Rotor Bearing Failure — Car Shredding Operation
Industry: Metal Recycling / Scrap Processing Services: Workshop, On-Site, Precision Machining, Bearing Replacement Equipment: Industrial Car Shredder — Main Rotor Assembly, Cylindrical Roller Bearing
The Situation
A cylindrical roller bearing supporting the main rotor of an industrial car shredder failed during operation. With the rotor down, the entire shredding operation ceased — a costly interruption that demanded an immediate response.
The Challenge
The failure wasn’t a straightforward bearing swap. Once the rotor was extracted and assessed in the Qualtex workshop, the true extent of the damage became clear: multiple components had been affected, each requiring specialist attention before the machine could safely return to service.
What Qualtex Did
The rotor was removed from the machine and transported to the Qualtex workshop in Hamilton. From there, a methodical damage assessment drove the repair scope.
Qualtex’s in-house hydraulic nuts were used to extract the bearing inner race mounting sleeves. Inspection revealed the bearing housing internal diameters were damaged and outside acceptable tolerances — the bores were built up and re-machined to restore the required dimensions. The bearing sleeve had rotated on the shaft, picking up metal and depositing it onto the journal. The shaft was dressed and re-polished before new bearings were fitted. Bearing caps and labyrinths were found to be severely damaged beyond reuse, so Qualtex technicians manufactured new items in-house.
With all components restored to specification, the rotor assembly was transported back to site, reinstalled, and precisely aligned. Commissioning checks confirmed the machine was operating correctly before handover.
The Outcome
The bulk of the repair — spanning precision machining, in-house component manufacture, and bearing replacement — was completed over a single weekend. What could have become an extended unplanned outage was contained, with production resuming with minimal business interruption. The repair addressed not just the failed bearing but every downstream consequence of the failure, leaving the machine in sound condition for the next service interval.
