Chapter-1

ROLLING BEARINGS

INTRODUCTION: This chapter is intended to present you with the kinds of

bearings manufactured to cater the needs and demand of rising tech world. It
helps in noting the basic structure of a rolling bearing and main components
which constitute a rolling bearing of any kind.

Definition: A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the
desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the
desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type
of operation, the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the
parts.

Components Of Rolling Bearings: Most rolling bearings consist of rings with raceway
(inner ring and outer ring), rolling elements (either balls or rollers) and cage. The cage
separates the rolling elements at regular intervals, holds them in place within the inner and
outer raceways, and allows them to rotate freely.

Raceway (Inner Ring & Outer Ring): The surface on which rolling elements roll is called
the raceway surface. The load placed on the bearing is supported by this contact surface.
The raceway of thrust bearing is called raceway washer, the inner ring is called the "shaft
raceway washer" and the outer ring is called the housing raceway washer. Generally the inner
ring fits on the axle or shaft and the outer ring on the housing.
Rolling Elements: Rolling elements classify in two types: balls and rollers. Rollers come in
four types: cylindrical, needle, tapered, and spherical. Balls geometrically contact with the
raceway surfaces of the inner and outer rings at "points", while the contact surface of rollers
is a "line" contact. Theoretically, rolling bearings are so constructed as to allow the rolling
elements to rotate orbitally while also rotating on their own axes at the same time.

Cages: Cages function to maintain rolling elements at a uniform pitch so load is never
applied directly to the cage and to prevent the rolling elements from falling out when
handling the bearing. Types of cages differ according to way they are manufactured, and
include pressed, machined and formed cages.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ROLLING BEARINGS

Rolling bearings divide into two main classifications: ball bearings and roller
bearings. Ball bearings are classified according to their bearing ring
configurations: deep groove type and angular contact type. Roller bearings on
the other hand are classified according to the shape of the rollers: cylindrical,
needle, tapered and spherical.

Rolling bearings can be further classified according to the direction in which the
load is applied; radial bearings carry radial loads and thrust bearings carry axial
loads.

Other classification methods include: 1) number of rolling rows (single, double,

or 4-row), 2) separable and non-separable, in which either the inner ring or the
outer ring can be detached.

Characteristics of rolling bearings

Deep grove ball bearing: The most common type of bearing, deep groove ball
bearings are widely used in a variety of fields. Deep
groove ball bearings include shield bearings and
sealed bearings with grease make them easier to
use.

Deep groove ball bearings also include bearings

with a locating snap-ring to facilitate positioning
when mounting the outer ring, expansion

compensating bearings which absorb

Fig 1.1 Deep groove ball bearing
dimension variation of the bearing
fitting surface due to housing temperature, and TAB bearings that are able to
withstand contamination in the lubricating oil.
Angular contact ball bearings

The line that unites point of contact of the inner

ring, ball and outer ring runs at a certain angle
(contact angle) in the radial direction. Bearings are
generally designed with three contact angles.

Angular contact ball bearings can support an axial

load, but cannot be used by single bearing because
of the contact angle. They must instead be used in
pairs or in combinations.

Angular contact ball bearings include double row angular contact ball bearings
for which the inner and outer rings are combined as a single unit. The contact
angle of double row angular contact ball bearings is 25.

There are also four-point contact bearings that can support an axial load in both
directions by themselves. These bearings however require caution because
problems such as excessive temperature rise and wearing could occur depending
on the load conditions

Single Row Angular Contact ball bearings

The Single Row Angular Contact ball bearings have higher axial load capacity
than the Single Row Radial ball bearings.

The bearings can carry axial load in one direction only and are to adjusted
against another bearing, if axial load is coming from both the directions. Each
bearing can be located endwise in one direction only.

These bearings, when mounted in a duplex arrangement, provide axial and/or

radial rigidity in applications where control of shaft displacement is
Fig. Single Row Angular
essential.
Contact
Double Row Angular Contact ball bearing

Double Row Angular Contact ball bearings have raceways

in the inner and outer rings that are displaced with respect to
each other in the direction of the bearing axis. This means
that they are designed to accommodate and simultaneously
action axial and radial loads. Due to angular contact the
axial load carrying capacity of angular contact ball bearings
increases as the contact angle increases. The contact angle
is defined as the angle between the line joining the points of
contact of the ball and the raceways in the radial plane
along which the load is transmitted from one raceway to
another, and a line perpendicular to the bearing axis. These
bearings can accommodate thrust in both the directions. The chief advantages of
the double row type are rigidity, compactness and high capacity.

Self-aligning ball bearings

Self-aligning ball bearings have two rows of balls, a

common sphered raceway in the outer ring and two deep
uninterrupted raceway grooves in the inner ring. They
are available open or sealed. The bearings are insensitive
to angular misalignment of the shaft relative to the
housing (fig. 1), which can be caused, for example, by
shaft deflection.

TAPER ROLLER BEARINGS

Taper Roller bearings are generally separable, which

means the cone assembly, consisting of the inner ring
with roller and cage, can be mounted separately from the
cup (outer ring). Being separable, mounting becomes
easier. The projection lines of all the taper surfaces
(Cup, Cone, and Roller) meet at a common point on the
bearing axis, called the apex point, ensuring proper rolling motion of the roller
on the track surfaces of cone and cup.

These bearings are mainly used in Wheels, Transmissions and Axle Centres of
Passenger Cars, MUVs, Trucks, Tractors, Earthmovers, etc. where RPM is
moderate and combination loads (i.e. simultaneously both axial and radial
loads) are prevalent.

SINGLE ROW (TRB)

Taper roller bearings can take both axial and radial loads.
The axial load carrying capacity of the bearings is largely
determined by the contact angle as shown in the figure
below. If the contact angle is larger, then the axial load
carrying capacity is higher and vice versa.

Taper roller bearings are designed in such a way that

vertices of the cone for each roller and those for the inner
and outer raceways coincides on the bearing axis or
extensions of the raceways and rollers converge at a common point on the axis
of rotation. This results in true rolling motion of the rollers on the raceways at
every point along the rollers. The taper roller bearings support radial loads and
axial loads from one direction only. The line contact between rollers and
raceways provide the bearings with a high load carrying capacity.

Steep angle taper roller bearing with exceptionally steep cone angle enables the
bearings to take heavier axial load. The bearings are of separable type, enabling
separate mounting of cups and cones.

Since the taper roller bearings can absorb thrust loads in one direction only,
these bearings should generally be installed as opposed mountings. The correct
amount of radial and axial clearance is obtained by adjusting the two bearings
against each other.

Besides, double row and four row taper roller bearings are also widely used for
heavy loads such as rolling mills. A single row taper roller bearing can be
located endwise in one direction only.

DOUBLE ROW (TRB)

In Double Row Taper Roller bearings, NBC provides

both back-to-back arrangement (using double row
outer rings) and face-to-face arrangement (using
double row inner rings). These are adjusted to fix the
clearance values of each type.

FOUR ROW (TRB)

Four Row Taper roller bearings are made up of two

double row inner rings and two double row outer rings.
These bearings are used for heavy load capacity as in
the roller necks of rolling mills. The life of large
bearings is extended by using case hardened steel,
hollow rollers and pin-type cages.

TAPER ROLLER THRUST

NBC Taper Roller Thrust bearings include rollers

that have conical sections. These bearings are
designed primarily to support axial loads at
contact angles between 30 and 90. These bearing
are suited for applications where extremely high
thrust loads like in crane hooks, coal pulverizer etc. These bearings can be
supplied with a full complement of rollers.
CYLINDRICAL ROLLER BEARINGS

The cylindrical roller bearings have greater radial load

capacity than ball bearings of same external
dimensions and are particularly suitable for arduous
duties. The roller bearings feature a modified line
contact between rollers and raceways to eliminate
edge stressing. These bearings have a high radial load
capacity and are suitable for high speeds. Due to
detachable design character they have advantage of
mounting inner ring and outer ring separately. The direction of axial load which
a bearing can take depends upon the geometry of the bearing.

SINGLE ROW (CRB)

Cylindrical roller bearings use rollers as rolling elements, and

therefore have a higher load capacity in comparison to same
dimension ball bearing. The rollers are guided by the ribs of the
inner or outer ring. The inner and outer rings can be separated to
facilitate assembly, and both can be fit with shaft or housing tightly.
If there are no ribs, either the inner or the outer ring can move
freely in the axial direction. Cylindrical roller bearings are therefore ideal to be
used as so-called free side bearings that absorb shaft expansion. In the case
where there is a rib, the bearing can bear a slight axial load between the end of
the rollers and the rib. Cylindrical roller bearings include the HT type which
incorporates the modified shape of roller end face and ribs for increasing axial
road capacity. And the E type with a special internal design for enhancing
radial load capacity. The E type is standardized for small-diameter sizes.

DOUBLE ROW (CRB)

NBC manufactures double row cylindrical roller

bearings with both cylindrical bore and tapered bore.

Double Row Cylindrical Roller Bearings are widely

used for applications requiring thin-walled bearings,
such the main shafts of machine tools, rolling
machine rollers, and in printing equipment. Internal radial clearance is adjusted
for the spindle of machine tools by pressing the tapered bore of the inner ring on
a tapered shaft.

The bearing components of Double Row CRBs can be mounted separately,

facilitating efficient mounting, inspection and maintenance of these bearings.

FOUR ROW (CRB)

NBC produces Four Row Cylindrical roller bearings in

different designs and arrangements depending on the
requirement of the application.

The variations are based on number of inner and outer

rings, number of loose or integral flanges on the outer
ring/ inner ring and type of cage design.

Four Row Cylindrical roller bearings are mainly used in the necks of rolling
machine rollers they are designed for maximum rated load to accommodate
the severely limited space in the roller neck section of such equipment. In the
event of a requirement where the bearings are mounted with a loose fit on the
roll neck, the bearings are made with helical grooves in the bore or lubrication
grooves in the side faces of the bearing rings so that the mating surfaces are
efficiently lubricated.

FULL COMPLEMENTARY

Full complement cylindrical roller bearings integrate a

maximum number of rollers without the usage of any
cage and are therefore suitable for very heavy radial
loads. However, they cannot operate at the same high
speeds as caged design cylindrical roller bearings.

These bearings provide an average radial load rating increase of 20 percent and
a life increase of 80 percent.
THRUST CYLINDRICAL ROLLER

Thrust bearings incorporating

cylindrical rollers are available
in single row, double row
Cylindrical roller thrust
bearings are able to receive
axial loads only, and have high axial rigidity which makes them well suited for
heavy axial loads.

SPHERICAL ROLLER BEARINGS

Spherical roller bearings are self-aligning

bearings designed for heavy radial loading.
They automatically compensate for large
angular errors (shaft misalignments). They
are usually of the double row design, both the
rows of the rollers having common spherical
raceways in the outer ring. This feature of
this bearing has great practical importance in
those cases where it is difficult to obtain
exact parallelism between the shaft and
housing both axes. So these bearings are suitable where misalignment can arise
from mounting errors or from deflection of the shaft. They have the ability to
take static as well as dynamic misalignment. Spherical roller bearings are
particularly suitable for carrying heavy loads. They are commonly found in
Industrial Gear boxes, Conveyors, Cement Grinding Rolls, Sugarcane crushers
and passenger coach axle boxes of Railways.

SPHERICAL ROLLER THRUST

Spherical roller thrust bearings can accommodate heavy

axial load, they are adapted to high speeds. These bearings
are fitted with asymmetrical barrel shaped roller.

Under normal load conditions, the allowable misalignmentis

1 to 2, although this will vary depending upon the
bearings dimension series. These bearings use machined
copper alloy cages and a guide sleeve is attached to the inner ring to guide the
cage. The axial load capacity of these bearings is high, and a certain amount of
radial load can also be accommodated when the ring is in an axially loaded
state.

AXLE BOXES

BC has produced Axle Boxes for the

railways since 1952. The company
meets the complete requirements of
the Indian Railways (one of the
largest in the world) by designing
and developing Axle Boxes and bearings for fitment to locomotives
manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works,
various other wagon builders, ICF broad and meter gauge coaches. Over a
million NBC bearings and boxes are in service with the Indian Railways. The
development of completely indigenized Axle Boxes and bearings for the high
speed Rajdhani Locomotive, and the Yugoslavian and Egyptian Railway
wagons are the highlights of the design capabilities at NBC.

Cylindrical roller bearings are used mainly in Locomotives (Diesel or Electric)

for Wagons wheel application. These bearings are used with axle box housing
and end fittings.

RANGE:

Axle Boxes with Cylindrical Roller Bearing for Wagons ( 4 Inch Bore to 12.60
inch OD)

Double Row Cylindrical Roller Bearing (Sealed Unit) (6.0 Inch Bore to 12.60
inch OD)
CTRB

Cartridge Taper roller bearings with technology from

Brenco, USA, have the outstanding property of
requiring no field lubrication. They are mainly used
in various wagons like BOXN, BCN, BTPN, etc.
designed by the Indian Railways. For fitment to these
Wagons designed by the RDSO, NBC is the only
manufacturer in India to indigenize these bearings
under collaboration with BRENCO the largest
manufacturer of these bearings in the world. For some special applications,
these bearings are also used as Wheel bearings for Locomotives (GM
Locomotive).

RANGE: 6-1/212 Class `F,611 Class E & 5-1/210, Class D Cartridge

Tapered Roller Bearing for Wagons (5.19 Inch Bore to 9.96 Inch OD).

LOW TORQUE BEARINGS

One of the critical areas related to automobiles

today is the conservation of natural resources. In
a vehicle, only about 12.6 % of energy is used for
moving the vehicle whereas 62% is lost to engine
friction, engine-pumping losses and to waste heat,
17% is lost in idling, 2% lost in accessories
operation and 5.6% lost in the drive train due to
friction and slippage.
By understanding the various torque contributors to the bearing such as grease,
seal and internal bearing geometry, NBC has developed the low torque bearing
technology. The low torque grease has been developed by various fundamentals
on tribo-meter along with design of low torque seal and optimization of internal
geometry to improve fuel efficiency. Low torque bearings reduce friction by 15-
20% and improve fuel efficiency.

NBC has engineered fuel efficient bearing for transmission and wheel bearing
application of two wheeler segments. These bearings have also been developed
for other automotive segments (cars, trucks, tractors, etc.) Various other
programs are underway as well and NBC is working towards extending the
technology to other areas.