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The eBearing News
December 28, 2004
NSK Plans to Expand
Wheel Hub III Bearing Production by 50%
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.
NSK Ltd. (Japan) said it will be aggressively expanding production of its Hub III automotive wheel
bearing hub assembly units at several facilities worldwide.
Specifically, NSK is targeting at least a 50% volume increase in Hub III production
by 2008 to 23 million hubs, corresponding to a 33% OEM market share.
To that end, NSK said it has budgeted at least $40 million, primarily to add Hub III
production lines in existing facilities. Hub III production will be initiated in Thailand.
In NSK nomenclature:
Hub I describes a double-row bearing and separate spindle. The bearing
is pressed into the knuckle and the spindle is pressed into the bearing.
Hub II describes an integral double-row bearing built into a flanged
outer ring. The flanged outer is bolted to the knuckle, and a separate spindle is pressed
into the bearing.
Hub III describes a fully integrated, preassembled unit, the double-row bearing
built into and as an integral part of the spindle and flanged outer ring. The flanged outer
bolts the entire assembled unit to the knuckle.
Several Hub III variations are available, from plain double-row ball bearing units to
those with tapered roller bearings, add-on electronic ABS sensors, to integrated ABS sensors and
multi-pole magnetic encoders. All of these electronics provide wheel speed data to the
vehicle's computer system. Sensors can be add-on passive sensors all the way to active sensors
used to help drive the next generation of electronic vehicle stability control systems.
NSK's HUB III production and market share have increased dramatically
since the company began specifically targeting that product line.
From only a minimal market presence in 1997, NSK said its worldwide market share for Hub III unit has
now grown to 25%, or 11.5 million units.
| year
| est. total OEM market
for Hub III
| est. NSK market
share of Hub III
| est. NSK sales
of Hub III
|
| 1997
| 20.0 million
| minimal
| minimal
|
| 2000
| 31.0 million
| 13%
| 4.0 million
|
| 2004
| 46.0 million
| 25%
| 11.5 million
|
| 2008
| 67.0 million
| 33%
| 23.0 million
|
NSK produces hub units and components in Ishibe, Japan; Franklin, Indiana and Liberty, Indiana, USA;
Peterlee, UK (since 2000); Shanghai, China; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Bangkok, Thailand.
Monthly Hub III production by 2008 is forecast to be:
| Japan
| 630,000
|
| USA
| 550,000
|
| UK
| 330,000
|
| China
| 280,000
|
| Thailand
| 50,000
|
In 2001, NSK published an article describing how Hub III units now use swaged inner rings
to lock the bearings in place, as opposed to the more-common but trouble-prone clamp nut system.
• NSK publication: Development of Hub Unit Bearing With Swaging
[requires PDF viewer]
NSK also produces tapered roller bearing hub units in an arrangement with Timken.
No announcements were made regarding production of the next-generation hub unit, dubbed Hub 3.5, which
integrates a CV joint. With that type of unit, not only is final assembly on the vehicle easier, but
the packaging size is much smaller, and the vehicle's turning radius can be smaller because the
CV's centerline shifts more favorably in line with the bearings and knuckle.
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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