With the micro-mobility market set to soar in the years through to 2030, NSK is in prime position to help OEMs take advantage of this significant demand. The company’s bearings have all the strength, heat treatment and compact dimensional attributes needed to succeed in any project involving products such as e-bikes, e-scooters or cargo bikes.

As part of a new product offer, global bearing specialist NSK is able to produce customised pre-assembled cartridge units for applications requiring extremely precise rotational performance. These compact bespoke units feature a pair of NSK precision deep groove ball bearings to facilitate high-speed, high-precision operation in devices that include handheld vacuum cleaners, encoders, surgical equipment and optical inspection instruments.

A large manufacturer of automotive engines has significantly improved the reliability of its CNC machining centres by adopting NSK sealed spindle bearings that prevent the ingress of cutting fluid. The result is a sizeable reduction in costs associated with replacement bearings, maintenance labour and production downtime, saving the plant almost €191,000 per year.

When a tyre manufacturer was enduring frequent failures of the ball screw within the air drum of its tyre building machine, the company turned to the expertise of NSK and its HTF series ball screw. By adopting this high-speed, high-load solution, the tyre plant was able to reduce its replacement ball screw purchases by two-thirds, delivering annual savings of €99,128.

Applications that demand high running speeds, easy handling and long service life will benefit from NSK’s new four-point contact ball bearings.

NSK is currently developing a new and cost-effective way of preventing electrical erosion in the drivetrains of electric vehicles (EVs). Based on a unique method of producing a patented plastic over-moulding for deep groove ball bearings, EV manufacturers will make significant savings in comparison with expensive ‘hybrid’ bearings that feature insulating components made from ceramics.

NSK Europe is celebrating a double scoop at the prestigious Toyota Motor Europe (TME) awards: a Certificate of Recognition (in the Supply category) and a Superior Performance Award (in the Quality category). TME typically presents the awards at its showpiece Annual Business Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in front of several hundreds of industry dignitaries. However, with the pandemic still a concern, the company instead organised a virtual live presentation.

The recent discovery of a large number of counterfeit NSK bearings in Johannesburg, South Africa, highlights the need to remain vigilant in the face of criminals who look to put the safety and integrity of industrial machinery and humans at risk. Towards the end of April 2022, a Police search and seizure operation (initiated by NSK) led to the confiscation of thousands of replica bearings (98% industrial types) worth an estimated R5 million. Criminal and civil proceedings are now underway against the perpetrators, who will shortly receive a court summons.

NSK Ltd and thyssenkrupp AG have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore a potential joint venture between NSK Steering and thyssenkrupp Automotive. Both companies will now enter an assessment phase before taking a decision on any future collaboration before the end of 2022.

The operator of a car wash line in Germany repeatedly had to replace bearings in the rotary unions of the system’s wash heads, leading to over €12,000 per annum for spare parts alone. However, maintenance costs were reduced to zero after replacing the bearings with NSK Molded-Oil deep groove ball bearings featuring DDU seals.