Background
As AI scales, data center electricity demand is rising, adding pressure on generation reliability. Most electricity generation methods rely on rotating machinery, making the maintenance and rapid repair of rotating equipment critical for uptime and operational efficiency.
White metal bearing pads play a key role in reducing friction inside these systems. These pads use a soft sacrificial “white metal” (Babbitt) liner bonded to a stronger metal backing. Repairing the liner as it wears away is essential for extending equipment life and maintaining reliable power generation operations.
The Challenge
Repairing white metal bearing pads is traditionally a complex, multi-step workflow requiring multiple setups, inspections, machining operations, and material repair stages.
To ensure no delamination occurs between the Babbitt layer and the backing material, ultrasound inspection must be performed between key operations. Machining is also required before inspection to ensure signal quality.
This results in extended repair workflows, additional handling, routing complexity, and increased production time.
Our Solution
Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies developed a consolidated repair workflow using an AMBIT™ Hybrid CNC platform integrating:
- Laser metal deposition
- CNC machining
- In-situ ultrasonic inspection
all within the same setup.
The workflow includes:
- Damage removal from the existing Babbitt layer
- Ultrasound inspection of the remaining bond
- Laser deposition of new Babbitt material
- Finish machining to final dimensions
- Final ultrasonic inspection for bond integrity validation
By integrating deposition, machining, and inspection into a single automated workflow, the system enables seamless transitions between operations while reducing setups and operator intervention.
Results
✅ 11x shorter turnaround time
✅ 35% faster active production
✅ 47% floor space reduction
✅ 48% lower production cost
✅ Improved process yield from 84% to 97%
✅ ~3x less handling during repair workflow
✅ Estimated ROI payback period of ~6–8 months
All key repair steps run in one hybrid CNC setup without operator intervention, increasing output and improving process visibility.
Ready to modernize bearing repair operations?
Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Global helps manufacturers streamline critical repair workflows through integrated additive manufacturing, machining, and in-process inspection solutions.
