Total Cost of Ownership
Significant Savings Over the Life of Your Machinery
Advanced active magnetic bearing (AMB) technologies from Waukesha Magnetic Bearings provide cost savings throughout the life-cycle of turbomachinery.
While a direct bearing-to-bearing comparison between conventional oil-lubricated bearings and magnetic bearings systems appears to favor oil-lubrication, magnetic bearings eliminate auxiliary equipment, lower energy consumption, minimize maintenance, and maximize reliability – yielding a lower total cost of ownership.
Lower Your Installation Costs
AMB systems use electromagnetic forces instead of lubrication to transmit loads. Eliminating the bearing lubrication system eliminates costly auxiliary equipment and reduces the equipment footprint.
Sealed and canned magnetic bearings can further reduce infrastructure costs, as they allow magnetic bearings to be immersed directly in process fluid and allow for outdoor installation of equipment.
On-skid Controller Offers Added Savings
Waukesha Magnetic Bearings is now reducing equipment footprints even further with an industry-first on-skid AMB controller. The skid-mounted controller, certified for Class 1/Div 2 hazardous area installation, eliminates the expensive AMB cables (and the related design and installation costs) that would typically span the distance from the equipment to the control room. The elimination of the cabling also eliminates recommissioning on-site and the added support cost.
Click below to read more about the central role of this on-skid controller in the L.A. Turbine ARES AMB turboexpander.
Lower Your Maintenance Costs
AMBs are virtually maintenance free. While wear in conventional bearings can limit the bearing life, either in running hours or in the number of start/stop cycles, AMBs do not experience wear. AMBs also eliminate the high maintenance costs, and subsequent downtime, associated with lubrication systems.
Moreover, AMB system intelligence provides a wealth of information on rotor forces and system stability. This information, combined with advanced control algorithms and remote connectivity, allow for equipment monitoring, diagnostics and tuning, without having a specialist on-site.
The Waukesha Magnetic Bearings Automated Commissioning function further reduces costs by putting OEMs and end users in control of their own maintenance and commissioning. The function provides a consistent, repeatable process that is faster than manual management. Specialist support is provided primarily through remote condition monitoring and comprehensive training programs.
Lower Your Operating Costs
Reduced need for on-site maintenance – or any maintenance – ultimately increases machine reliability and availability. Waukesha Magnetic Bearings systems have achieved 99.9% availability.
AMB systems also provide energy savings. Their lack of wear and lack of contact creates very low friction, reducing bearing losses and improving efficiency.
Again, the elimination of the lubrication system contributes too. Contamination of the process by lubricant can degrade heat transfer and degrade process efficiency. AMB systems maintain their precise performance over time.
