Wherever a motor runs on a variable frequency drive (VFD), it is at risk of electrical bearing damage, and that risk is not specific to any one industry.
The shaft voltage a VFD creates discharges through the motor’s bearings and wears them out from the inside, whether the motor is cooling a data center, driving a paper machine, or pumping crude through a pipeline.
SGS shaft grounding stops it at the source, protecting motors in nearly every sector that runs on VFDs.
The Same Problem, Across Every Sector
VFDs are now standard on the fans, pumps, compressors, and process motors that keep facilities running. They save energy, but the high-frequency switching that makes them efficient also puts damaging voltage on the motor shaft. The result is the same everywhere: frosting, fluting, and premature bearing failure.
Because the problem follows the drive, not the industry, the facility that owns the equipment is the one that decides to protect it. The pages below show how shaft grounding applies in the industries where VFD bearing damage is most costly, and where it is worth specifying protection rather than waiting for a failure.
Industries We Serve
Data Centers
Protect mission-critical cooling motors from VFD bearing damage, and service them without ever taking cooling offline.
Learn moreSemiconductor Manufacturing
Keep cleanroom, process-cooling, and subfab motors running, protecting the uptime and precision your yield depends on.
Learn morePulp & Paper
Protect paper machine, fan, and pump motors in the industry where shaft grounding research began.
Learn moreMining & Metals
Protect large mill, crusher, and rolling-line drives in the most abrasive, demanding conditions on site.
Learn moreOil, Gas & Chemical
Protect pump and compressor motors in severe-duty, hazardous-area, continuous-process service.
Learn more
More Industries We Protect
The same VFD bearing damage affects motors well beyond the industries above. SGS shaft grounding protects equipment across:
Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing
Extruders, injection-molding drives, and process motors that run continuously under VFD control.
Automotive & Transportation-Equipment Manufacturing
Plant conveyors, pumps, fans, and line motors throughout the factory.
Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences
Cleanroom air handling, process cooling, and utility motors where uptime and compliance are critical.
Cold Storage & Industrial Refrigeration
VFD-driven compressors, condenser fans, and pumps running around the clock.
Fabricated Metal & Machinery Manufacturing
Machine tools, presses, conveyors, and plant utility motors.
If you operate VFD-driven motors in any other industry, the same protection applies.
Contact us and we’ll help you determine where shaft grounding fits in your facility.
One Solution for Every Motor
Whatever your industry, SGS Shaft Grounding Systems divert shaft current safely to the motor frame, away from the bearings.
The CR Series sealed brush fits most standard motors, with the SR and DR Series available for large-frame and uncoupled applications.
With 40 years of shaft grounding experience and US-made products, SGS protects the motors your operation runs on.
