NKE Austria has developed a special bearing assembly for the cutter tine rotor of a power harrow manufactured by agricultural machinery specialist, Lemken. The new bearing unit replaces four separate components: a standard deep groove ball bearing, a radial oil seal running on the inner race of a needle roller bearing and a felt seal in a metal housing. Each of these four components had to be handled and fitted separately during the manufacture of the Zirkon 10 power harrow.
With the aim of reducing assembly and inventory costs, NKE proposed a unit in which the external seals were already integrated into the bearing. Based on a standard deep groove ball bearing 6212, the new unit features an RS synthetic rubber seal on one side, a radial oil seal between the outer and inner races, as well as a felt seal with a metal cap on the other.
The design changes required from Lemken were minimal; only one snap ring groove had to be relocated. The special bearing was developed by NKE in collaboration with Lemken’s design department. A cutaway model of the cutter tine rotor is shown here, with NKE’s bearing unit in place.