Wooden Rollercoaster, PNE

Bearing Types & Uses

Presenter’s Name

Timo Klaus

Instructor Bio As the co-founder and Executive Vice President of KumbaK, Timo is leading his team of engineers in the upgrading of existing amusement rides and providing technical assistance to the various operators and owners of attractions.  It is his passion to assist these ride operators and owners in finding the best ways forward in keeping their older attractions safely and successfully in operation.

Timo has been involved in the amusement industry since 1 January 2000.  Before his involvement in the amusement industry, he was the sales and service manager in The Netherlands for NEG Micon (later acquired by Vestas Wind Systems).  Timo started his career as a development engineer for Stork Pumps in Brussels, Belgium.

Timo has been involved with AIMS International since attending his first safety seminar in 2008 as a presenter.  Since then, he has been presenting various different classes during the AIMS Safety Seminars, including a class on bearings, chains, blueprints for pneumatics & hydraulics and engineering.

In 2011, Timo was voted onto the AIMS Board of Directors and in 2012 was elected as Second Vice-President.  After being promoted to First Vice President in 2014, he was the President of AIMS International from April 1, 2015 until March 31, 2017.  Currently, Timo is AIMS Internationals Treasurer.

Timo is a graduate of Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands with a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

Track Maintenance
Presentation synopsis Bearing Types & Uses
In this class, first an introduction is provided on what bearings are, what they do and where they are typically applied in the (Amusement) Industry.  After this, the various main types of bearings are presented, with a focus on where they are normally applied and why.  Finally, types of premature failure are described.