Acorn Christmas Opening Times

We would like to thank all customers for their business throughout 2010 and pass on our wishes from everyone at Acorn Industrial Services, who would like to wish you a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.
If you require products during the Festive Season - day or night, please see our opening times or you can contact your branch by telephoning the ‘Out of Hours’ phone numbers show below.
 
Have a very Merry Christmas from everyone at Acorn 

Christmas Acorn Opening Times:

 
24th December - Christmas Eve: Open 8:30am to 1pm
25th December - Christmas Day: Closed - Out of hours service only
26th December - Boxing Day: Closed - Out of hours service only
27th/28th December: Closed - Out of hours service only
29th December: Open 8:30am to 5pm   
30th December: Open 8:30am to 5pm
31st December: - New Years Eve: Open 8:30am to 5pm
1st January - New Years Day: Closed - Out of hours service only
2nd/3rd January: Closed - Out of hours service only
4th January: Open - Business as usual 
 

Out of Hours Telephone Numbers:

 
Rotherham Head Office: Mob: 07970 789 978 or Tel: 01709 789 999 and choose No.1 when prompted
Midlands RDC: Mob: 07974 246352 or Tel: 0121 521 5999 Choose No.2 when prompted
North East RDC: Tel: 0191 417 8899
South West RDC: Tel: 01179 820 414
North West Branch: Tel 07970 789 978
Scotland Branch: Tel: 07970 789 978

Please Note: for service out of hours, a callout charge of £45 before midnight, or £60 thereafter will be incurred. Callout charges for Bank Holidays are charged at £60 per call out.

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Electrical Damage in Rolling Element Bearings

Electrical damage to rolling element bearings is a common cause of failure - common enough to have a whole category listed under the ISO standard for Bearing Damage (ISO 15243:2004, from www.iso.org .) It's technically called electrical erosion. So where does the damage come from, and what can you do to prevent it from happening in your machines?

There are basically four cases to consider: Is the machine moving or not; and are you getting current leakage, or a high amperage discharge through the bearings?

Electrical current passage through bearings can happen when machines are not moving. Example: your friendly contractor does some welding at your plant and decides to attach her ground via your nearby electric motor. This would be a high amperage discharge, and might "weld" bearing parts together internally. Low intensity current would likely produce many tiny craters that aggregate into darker areas of damage. If you have burnt-smelling lubricant as well, it's another confirmation of current leakage. This leakage might be from static discharge (are you making plastic or paper products?) or from high voltage current spikes caused by variable frequency drive (VFD) converters.

When the machine is moving, the current passage often produces a very regular pattern of fine, dark lines across the bearing raceway. These can grow in size and depth as the damage continues. If you don't have vibration monitoring, eventually an operator will hear it, hopefully before something catastrophic happens.

What can be done to eliminate these unwanted currents? If you suspect static discharge, inspect your grounding: straps get corroded or come loose. If you suspect VFD's as the source, have an expert look at your cabling, especially cable quality, lengths and termination.

Some motors and generator sets simply produce stray currents that can't be eliminated. In these cases, change to a bearing with Insulation (SKF Insocoat, for example) or a bearing with ceramic rolling elements to allow the current to go safely to ground. Whatever you'd pay for these parts is a small cost considering the price of your downtime.

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Customer satisfaction which spans the Globe - Read one of our customer testimonials

I want to share with you a conversation that one of my colleagues had with a Canadian gentleman the other day. It all started with an enquiry for a very unusual bearing and ended with a very satisfied customer - and a glowing testimonial for Acorn.

It’s always good to get feedback from customers. It’s a great feeling when you can help a customer out of a tight spot-  and our team thrives on that customer satisfaction buzz. Even more important is learning how we can improve our service when we get it wrong - Thankfully, with our 99% picking accuracy and 99.5% delivery record, these are few and far between!

This is the actual conversation which happened between Helen - our customer sales advisor and a new customer in Canada:(Correspondence via E-mail)

Customer: Hi Helen, thank you for you prompt and kind response. I am just wanting to confirm that Acorn actually has this unusual bearing already in its possession, in stock. (I have contacted SKF worldwide and they only show reserves of it in Italy, and SKF Canada said 4-6 weeks to have it brought over...)  If you do have one unit of the item SKF 613742c/c4 there with you, I would certainly make the purchase. Thanks much in advance, 

Acorn: Good Morning, we do not have the item here, however it is stock at SKF Belgium. We get a shipment daily from them. Hope this helps? 

Customer: Hi Helen, thanks very much, that is very helpful.  (Can we deduct the VAT) and get a price for Royal Mail air post to Canada?  That would be amazing actually. I really need this odd bearing ASAP, with much thanks.  Can I arrange to pay with Visa...or paypal perhaps, not sure. I am an individual buyer, not a business. But Acorn really is the most helpful I have encountered so far searching for this item SKF 613742 c/c4.  Again, thanks for all you personal help on this. 

Acorn: Your welcome Glen, thanks for your nice words also. Yes please deduct the vat, however we cannot offer royal mail, we would use DHL Express. 1-3 day service. I hope this is acceptable. 

Customer: Hello Helen, I just wanted to thank you for the excellent service you and Acorn provided, you truly have saved the season for me. It is quite unusual these days to get such excellent response in business. Please feel free to forward this thank you message to your sales manager as proof of your fantastic customer service, thanks again.
Sincerely,
Glen Smith
Canada.

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Now's the time to stock up on those popular trailer bearings

It's that time of year again when trailers & caravans are given a good once over ready for the summers activities. It's important to have the right stock on-hand to ensure you can satisfy your customer demands. UBC, SKF, Koyo, NKE, NTN, Timken & NEUTRAL Taper Roller Bearings are all available at Acorn in the popular trailer bearing sizes.

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The horticultural and agricultural season provides new opportunities for us all

Now’s the time farmers, engineers, lawnmower suppliers and councils etc will be getting tractors, grass cutting equipment and other agricultural and horticultural applications ready for the season.
All that mud, dust, water, sap, stones and straw takes it’s toll on the bearings, belts and chain used in these application and many of these have to be replaced. It’s a good idea to stock up on these seasonal products in readiness for when your customers suddenly need urgent replacements.
FS and RHP bearing units, Megadyne XDV Extra Duty V-Belts and Diamond and Renold chains are all available through your nearest Acorn Branch.

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