Ball & Roller Bearings

Bearing Terminology

Bearing = Raceway Rolling Elements Cage Lubricant Seal

Bearing Arrangement Terminology
1. Cylindrical roller bearing
2. Four-point contact ball bearing
3. Housing
4. Shaft
5. Shaft abutment shoulder
6. Shaft diameter
7. Locking plate
8. Radial shaft seal
9. Distance ring
10. Housing bore diameter
11. Housing bore
12. Housing cover
13. Snap ring
 Radial Bearing Types

Deep Groove Angular Contact Self Aligning Cylindrical Roller

Full Complement
Needle Roller Tapered Roller
Cylindrical Roller
 Thrust Bearing Types

Thrust Ball Bearing

Thrust Ball Bearing Angular Contact
Single Direction
Double Direction

Cylindrical Roller
Needle Roller Tapered Roller
 Bearing Selection – Space
• Limited Radial Space
– Choose bearing with low
cross-sectional height
– EX. Needle roller and cage
assemblies
• Limited Axial Space
– Choose bearings that can
handle combined loads
– EX. Cylindrical roller, deep
groove, needle roller
 Bearing Selection – Loads
• Magnitude
– Roller bearings support heavier
loads than similar sized ball
bearings
– Full complement roller bearings
support heavier loads than
corresponding caged bearings
• Radial
– Some cylindrical roller and all
needle roller
 Bearing Selection – Loads
• Axial
– Thrust ball bearing and four-point contact ball
– Angular contact thrust ball bearings
 Bearing Selection – Loads
• Combined
– Greater the angle of contact, greater ability to
handle axial loads
 Bearing Selection – Loads
• Moment
– Eccentric loads resulting in tilting moment
– Best: paired single row angular contact bearings or
tapered roller bearings
 Bearing Selection – Misalignment
• Rigid Bearings
– Deep groove and cylindrical roller
• Cannot accommodate misalignments well
• Accommodating Bearings
– Self-aligning ball bearings, spherical roller (radial
and thrust)
 Bearing Selection – Speed
• Highest Speeds
– Purely Radial Loads
• Deep Groove Ball Bearings
• Self Aligning Ball Bearings
– Combined Loads
• Angular Contact
• Thrust bearings cannot accommodate as high
speeds as radial
 Seals
• Purpose
– Keep contaminants out, and lubricant in the
bearing cavity
• Types
– Seals in contact with stationary surfaces (static) /
sliding surfaces (dynamic)
– Non-contact seals
– Bellows and membranes
 Bearing Arrangement
• Locating and Non-locating
– Stiff
• Deep groove ball bearing with
cylindrical roller bearing
– Self-Aligning
• Self-aligning ball bearing with
toroidal roller bearing
 Selection of Fit
• The heavier the load, particularly if it is a shock load, the
greater the interference fit
• Elements will heat up differently causing expansion
• Tolerances on shaft and housing
• http://www.skf.com/group/products/bearings-units-housings/ball-bearings/principles/application-of-bearings/radial-location-of-
bearings/selection-of-fit/recommended-fits/index.html
 Methods of Location
• Locking Washer
– Washer engages keyway in shaft
– Tab is bent over into slot on circumference of nut

• Locking Screw
– Prevents nut from turning
 Bearing Load
• Dynamic
– Load to failure after 1,000,000 revolutions (ISO
281:1990)
– Shows metal fatigue (flaking, spalling) on rings or
rolling elements
• Static
– Rotate at slow speeds (< 10 RPM)
– Perform very slow oscillating movements
– Stationary under load for certain extended periods
 Service Life Factors
• Contamination
• Wear
• Misalignment
• Corrosion
• Cage Failure
• Lubrication
• Seal
 Designing For Disassembly
• Add threaded holes to use
screws to ‘jack’ bearings out of
housings
• Add porting and grooves to use
high pressure oil to dismount
bearings
 Introducing Pre-Load
• Enhance stiffness
• Quiet running
• Accurate shaft guidance
• Compensates for wear and
settling
• Longer service life
Bearing Example
Designing Shafts for Bearings
• Static Load Carrying Capacity
of a bearing is defined asthe static load which
corresponds to a total permanentdeformation of
balls and races, at the most heavily stressedpoint
of contact, equal to 0.0001 of the ball diameter.
• Dynamic Load Carrying Capacity
of a bearing is definedas the radial load in radial
bearings that can be carried for aminimum life of
one million revolutions
• Selection Of Bearing-Type
• The guidelines for selecting a proper type of bearing are
as follows:-
• For low and medium radial loads, ball bearings are used, whereas
for heavy loads roller bearings are selected.
• Self-aligning ball bearings and spherical roller bearings are used in
applications where a misalignment between the axes of the shaft
and housing is likely to exist.
• Thrust ball bearings are used for medium thrust loads whereas for
heavy thrust loads, cylindrical roller thrust bearings are used.
• Deep groove ball bearings, angular contact bearings and spherical
roller bearings are used in applications where the load acting on the
bearing has two components-radial and thrust
• Bearing Failure
• The principal types of surface wear are:-
Abrasive wear
• :It occurs when the bearing is made to operate in an environment with dust,
foreign particles, rust or spatter.
Corrosive wear
• :The corrosion of thesurface of bearing parts is caused by the entry of water or
moisture and also corrosive elements present in the extreme pressure additives
that are added in the lubricating oil. This results in fine wear uniformly distributed
over the entire surface.
Pitting:
• It is a surface fatigue failure that occurs when the load on the bearing part exceeds
the surface endurance strength of the material. This type of failure is characterized
by pits, which continue to grow resulting incomplete destruction of the bearing
surface.
Scoring:
• Excessive surface pressure, high surface speed and inadequate supply of lubricant
result in breakdown of the lubricant film. This results in excessive frictional
heatand overheating at the contacting surfaces. Scoring is a stick-slip
phenomenon, in which alternate welding and shearing takes place rapidly at high
spots.
• Designation
• The main designation is a seven digit number with optional alphanumeric
digitsbefore or after to define additional parameters. Here the digits will
be defined as:7654321.Digits one and two together are used to define the
inner diameter (ID), or borediameter of the bearing. For diameters
between 20 and 495, the designation ismultiplied by five to give the ID;
e.g. designation 08 is a 40 mm ID. For innerdiameters less than 20 the
following designations are used: 00 = 10 mm ID,01 = 12 mm ID, 02 = 15
mm ID, and 03 = 17 mm ID. The third digit defines the"diameter series",
which defines the outer diameter (OD). The diameter series,defined in
ascending order is: 0, 8, 9, 1, 7, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
• Ball radial single-row1)Ball radial spherical double-row2)Roller radial with
short cylindrical rollers 3) Roller radial spherical double-row4)Roller
needle or with long cylindrical rollers5)Roller radial with spiral
rollers6) Ball radial-thrust single-row7)Roller tapered8)Ball thrust,
ball thrust-radial9) Roller thrust or thrust-radial