Koyo Bearings, a division of JTEKT Corporation, specialized in the design and engineering of a wide range of rolling bearings for numerous applications, ranging from automotive and windmill applications to aerospace and tunnel drilling equipment, has now developed a new series of dedicated bearings for automated Covid 19 PCR test laboratories.

Background of the development

Massive increase in global Covid 19 testing requires automation in laboratories to process the huge amounts of PCR tests coming into specialized laboratories every day. For reference: the Covid 19 PCR tests processing capacity in the UK reached ~1 million tests per day, in January 2022 (source: DW/ECDC 01/22). With such huge numbers of tests being offered to laboratories every day, human/manual processing is not sufficient anymore. To be able to process such volumes of test kits and to assure the quality/reliability of test evaluations, strongly automated laboratory processes are needed. This requires automated transportation means and robots to handle and process the test kits accurately, as well as for the safe disposal of the remaining materials. The current state of the art automated laboratory work stations can process up to 10.000 kits per day.

Koyo supplies the NRBs to support laboratory equipment for automatic handling of PCR test tubes and the transfer to the PCR plate where the final synthesis, amplification and detection of the virus takes place under very strict hygiene conditions. Our bearings are supporting the rotational movements needed for the smooth linear transfer and robotic manipulation of the PCR test material. The features of the applied drawn cup caged NRBs include: maximum radial load capacity in combination with a very thin outer ring (cup) requiring minimal space and allowing easy press-fit mounting.

Please note that Koyo Bearings will be rebranding to JTEKT Bearings as of April 1, 2022. Please appreciate that this is only a change of brand. The company, its general structure, the products and services will remain the same.  Our customers can rely on the continued good service and quality of our products in the future and our commitment to keep the same excellent business relationship with our valued partners, as in the past.

Please do not hesitate to contact us, in case you would like to have more information about our company, products and services.

Get to know Koyo bearings at www.koyo.eu