UNDERGROUND

SKF supplies 8t roller bearing

SKF has manufactured and supplied its largest ever spherical roller bearing for the mining industry

Staff reporter

This article is 9 years old. Images might not display.

The bearing, which has a bore diameter of 1.25m, was manufactured at SKF’s factory in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Petra Öberg Gustafsson, product line manager for self-aligning rolling bearings at SKF, said: “SKF is a world leader in spherical roller bearings, manufacturing bearings of all sizes and series – from the smallest, with a 20mm bore size, to this large size bearing that weighs close to 8t.”

The bearing is equipped with SKF SensorMount, a system that measures the actual mounting fit of the bearing onto the shaft. It helps avoid the risk of improper mounting, a major issue for large size bearings. The bearing weighs 7,780kg, and each roller within it weighs 42kg.

Archived article: image not displayed.

The bearing is of the upgraded SKF Explorer class with improved wear resistance, thanks to the material heat treatment process that nearly doubles service life in poor lubrication and contaminated conditions.

SKF was chosen to supply the bearing due to its application engineering expertise and support, and the knowledge and experience in manufacturing large size industrial bearings.

Daniel Ortega, project manager at the Gothenburg factory, said: “We have worked in close cooperation with the customer, in order to design an optimum 241/1250 bearing that is particularly suitable for applications in the mining industry. These applications have extreme operating conditions and are very demanding from a bearing service life perspective.”

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

Expert-led Insights reports built on robust data, rigorous analysis and expert commentary covering mining Exploration, Future Fleets, Automation and Digitalisation, and ESG.

editions

Future Fleets Insights 2026

Exclusive research for the Mining IQ Future Fleets Insights 2026 shows mining companies must invest more in decarbonising if they are to meet CO2 targets

editions

ESG Index 2025: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Index provides an in-depth evaluation of the ESG performance of 60+ of the world’s largest mining companies. It assesses companies across 10 weighted indicators within 6 essential ESG pillars.

editions

Automation and Digitalisation Insights 2025

Discover how mining companies and investors are adopting, deploying and evaluating new technologies.

editions

Mining IQ Exploration Insights 2025

Gain exclusive insights into the world of exploration in a comprehensive review of the top trending technologies, intercepts, discoveries and more.