Counterfeit bearings
June 23, 2008 · Print This Article
Almost impossible to spot the fakes
It is no longer only fake hand bags, luxury watches and designer clothing that are flooding our markets, but increasingly also safety-relevant industrial products such as rolling bearings.
Spurious bearings may look the same regardless of who made them or where you bought them, but don’t be fooled: poorly made bearings can have dangerous consequences for end users. |
Fake bearings causing engineers major headache
The recent onslaught of bogus bearings is creating a major headache for engineers and businesses alike. We’re alerted to this problem now almost on a daily basis. One of the engineers who experienced this problem commented that the suspect bearings didn’t last more than one hour after fitting! Counterfeiters are getting so good at reproducing original markings and packaging of bearings that even INA, FAG and SKF say them selves it’s difficult to distinguish the counterfeit from the legitimate bearings. Practices being used include:
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Exact copies with “genuine” markings and brand imprints including INA, FAG and SKF
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Used bearings which are re-conditioned to look like new ones.
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Bearings polished and ground to remove the rust and pit marks or oil and grease stains.
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Bearings remarked tolerances (ordinary class bearings marked as P6, P5 or P4 class) or altered clearance (C3 clearance bearing remade as plain bearing or visa versa) etc.
Exact copies with “genuine” markings and brand imprints including INA, FAG and SKF
Used bearings which are re-conditioned to look like new ones.
Bearings polished and ground to remove the rust and pit marks or oil and grease stains.
Bearings remarked tolerances (ordinary class bearings marked as P6, P5 or P4 class) or altered clearance (C3 clearance bearing remade as plain bearing or visa versa) etc.
There is no specific type of bearing that is targeted by counterfeiters. The fakes enter the market with bearings typically used in automotive back street after market applications, where less sophisticated users where apt to be taken in by the scam.
Precision bearings with extensive lead times
When the fakes got better, they entered the (OEM) precision bearing market where they are suffering extensive lead times. Now the copies have filtered down the run of the mill industrial products, sold often mixed in among the originals. Spurious bearings that don’t meet your technical specs can be expected to fail very quickly. The result: Premature failure that creates problems and economical loss, serious implications in safety-critical applications or tarnish your reputation.
Impossible to spot the fakes?
It’s almost impossible to spot the fakes. Often, only a technical lab could confirm their lack of authenticity. And only authorised distributors guarantee genuine products. Therefore, its probably best to buy your bearings from an authorised distributor.
Source: South China Morning Post
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