Hone In Place

HONE IN PLACE

Lignum Vitae North America continues to innovate by developing in-plant shaft cleaning technology for aging hydro plants along with the sustainable supply of Lignum Vitae.

Lignum Vitae North America has developed a proprietary hone in place process to clean vertical shafts.  The patent for this process is pending.  The process was developed for any plant operating on a rough shaft to prevent unplanned outages due to bearing failures, offering particular advantages for older aging plants.

Most older plants have a less than desirable shaft surface due to old age, acidic water, plastic/composite scoring, which create scale and rust that grinds on the bearings as it breaks loose causing inordinate wear and premature bearing life. Our hone can be used on shafts serviced by composites and plastics as well, however when used in conjunction with Lignum Vitae water lubricated bearings Lignum Vitae North America will offer a full bearing replacement for 10 years.

We custom make our hone to fit any existing slotted, dovetailed, or quarter block configuration on shafts from 4” to 50”. Our hone leaves a bearing finish that allows lignum vitae to keep the plant in service for years well past the intended life. Once cleaned, Lignum Vitae has the ability to polish the shaft ongoing. Added benefits include vibration reduction, shaft stability, shock absorption and permanent lubrication are all achieved by replacing plastics, composites and installing Lignum Vitae in its place.

Initial surveys suggest that approximately 75 percent of all hydro plants in North America could benefit from the use of Lignum Vitae’s hone in place process due to the significant savings brought about by leaving the shaft in place during service. A typical “in place” shaft milling process requires a space of about 10” around the shaft or to be removed and taken to a shop, turned true and shipped, back and installed. Our hone in place service can achieve results with just 1-1/2” space from back of housing to face of shaft! The old process can take 4-5 months and up to $250,000 or more, our new hone leaves everything in place eliminating all the expense of removal. Depending on plant conditions, our hone process can take only 2-5 days.

With this new innovative hone technology, the proven performance of a century of Lignum Vitae water lubricated bearings, and our supply ready to ship we are securing hydro power generation for the future.  We believe this is and Lignum Vitae will be the best bearing solution for old and new hydro power plants worldwide.

 

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