One of the main reasons Indramat servo motors run reliably for decades years is the quality and design of the bearings. Indramat servos are equipped with lifetime lubricated bearings that provide constant performance with practically no maintenance. But exactly how long do these lifetime lubricated bearings last?
How long is a lifetime?
This question isn’t as easy to answer as you would hope. A lifetime lasts… well, a lifetime. Of course, the length of a lifetime varies considerably.
For example, life expectancy varies across the globe. According to the United Nations, global average life expectancy is 72.6 years. However, the average life expectancy in Chad is just over 52 years, whereas the average life expectancy in Japan is over 84 years: a difference of nearly one-third of a century. However, this doesn’t mean your lifetime will reach 84 years if you live in Japan, and you may exceed 52 years of age living in Chad.
And that’s just the lifetime of people.
A person has a longer lifetime than a car, which has a longer lifetime than a dog, which has a longer lifetime than a pair of running shoes, which has a longer lifetime than a banana, which has a longer lifetime than a mayfly…
You get the idea.
Then, each shoe, banana, mayfly may last a longer or shorter time than another shoe, banana, or mayfly.
In other words, saying that something lasts a lifetime is like saying something lasts until it doesn’t. It’s vague, at best.
How long do lifetime lubricated bearings last?
The real question is how long will your Indramat lifetime lubricated bearings last before you have to replace them.
Obviously, the lifetime lubricated bearings in Indramat servos last a long time. The lifetime of those bearings isn’t based on your lifetime, however. Lifetime lubricated bearings last the lifetime of your servo motor under normal conditions and appropriate use.
This could mean five, ten, or fifteen years depending on how you run your system.
People sometimes forget that lifetime doesn’t mean forever. Even if your bearings are holding up, you may eventually need maintenance or maybe even a REMAN for your Indramat products.
Call 479-422-0390 for Indramat repair, REMAN, or troubleshooting support. We specialize in Indramat motion control systems, and in most cases we can clear your error codes directly over the phone. Call today for emergency support, or contact us online.