Ball bearings have a wide range of uses, including medical and packaging technologies, as well as electronics and office technology. Because these components come in a variety of materials, each with its own set of characteristics and benefits, assessing the pros and cons of a particular type of ball bearing may become a significant element of the design process. Steel, ceramic, and plastic are the most frequent materials used to make ball bearings. While each ball bearing is made up of four major components—an outer race, an inner race, a cage, and balls—each has its own set of distinct properties.

Inner Ring

The smallest of the two bearing rings is the Inner Ring. It features a groove on its outside diameter that serves as a racetrack for the balls. The outside diameter path’s surface is completed to exceptionally tight tolerances and sharpened to a very smooth surface. The spinning element is the inner ring, which is positioned on the shaft.

Outer Ring

The bigger of the two bearing rings called the Outer Ring. A groove on the inside diameter of the outer ring forms a passage for the balls. It is likewise finished with the same high accuracy as the inner ring. Typically, the outer ring is maintained stationary.

Rolling Element

The rolling parts divide the inner and outer rings of the bearing and allow it to revolve with little friction. The rolling components are somewhat smaller in size than the track on the inner and outer rings. Rolling element dimensions are well regulated. Surface finish and size differences are critical characteristics. These characteristics are regulated down to the microinch level.

Cage

Along bearings, the cage’s role is to separate the rolling elements while keeping a consistent spacing between the inner and outer rings, to properly guide the rolling elements in the route during rotation, and to keep the rolling elements from falling out.

Shields

The shield is a profiled sheet metal disc that has been stamped. Shield is pushed into a very small groove on the outer ring’s inside edge diameter. A slight gap exists between the outer diameters of the inner ring and the shield. There is no additional friction between the shield and the bearing since the shield does not make contact with the inner ring of the bearing. As a result, the bearing has a very low torque. Shields prevent bigger particles of contaminants from entering the bearing.

Because the procedure of mounting rolling bearings has such a big impact on their precision, longevity, and performance, it’s important to pay attention to it. Their characteristics must first be highly observe, and then they must be mounted correctly. The handling processes for bearings should be thoroughly researched by design engineers, and standards should be set for such as examine the dimensions and other associated components, bearings and associated parts should be clean, procedures of mounting , sufficient enough of lubricants

The bearing mounting technique is determined by the kind of bearing and the type of fit. Bearings are typically used on rotating shafts, therefore the inner rings must fit snugly. Bearings with cylindrical  are often placed on shafts by pushing them on (press fit) or heating them to enlarge their diameter (shrink fit). Tapered bore bearings can be placed directly on tapered shafts or cylindrical shafts utilising tapered sleeves.

Things should not do while install a bearing to shaft 

*Touching bearings with your bare hands is never a good idea. The use of talc-free finger cots or talc-free surgical gloves is recommended.

Now let’s talk about how bearing is remove from the shaft bearing removal method is done with a bearing puller for standard outer and inner rings, which may be obtained from a variety of manufacturers, including Feiken. A puller that pulls through the rollers should be used to remove bearings with a backing shoulder place on the bearing it also applied the pressure it can cause the raceway to expand and easily remove.

Things should not do if removing a bearing from shaft 

*If you want to retain the housing and other parts unharmed, don’t use a torch.

*Do not cool the bearing will cause the cases to shrink.

*Never put aluminium parts on any type of hot plate. It’s nearly impossible to heat uniformly, and much more difficult to keep the temperature under control. The maximum temperature you can reach is 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bearings allow the shafts, discs, and airfoil that compress air and extract power from a combustion cycle to rotate freely making it one of the essential components in aviation engines. Other than that, bearings with high endurance are required for aerospace applications as their features enable them to provide continual outstanding performance despite variations in temperature and air pressure. Several key components of aviation engines and landing gear must be mobile and the purpose of every bearing is to facilitate two connected surfaces to move either together or independently.

As an example, landing gear bearing are used on aircraft tyres. During landing, the landing gear requires to withstand massive weights, severe shocks, and extreme rapid acceleration. This application necessitates the use of precision-engineered tapered roller bearings composed of carefully chosen materials.

Besides that, control rods on aircraft demands plenty of sealed deep groove ball bearings with spherical alignment. They should be able to withstand huge weights and operate under extreme circumstances such as intense heat and cold. They are constructed such the spherical seats can accommodate for rod bending, specific seats and lubricants for severe working temperatures including unique corrosion-resistant surface treatments.

A bearing number is made up of many numbers that represent various characteristics of bearing. A bearing number, in general, contains information on bearing types, bearing series, bore size, and sealing basic designation typically contains three to five digits

The first digit of the bearing refers to the type of bearing.

The second digit identify the bearing series

The last two digits of the basic designation identify the size code of the bearing bore. The size code multiplied by 5 gives the bore diameter (d) in mm.

For instance, let’s take an example 6310.How can we know more about the bearing base on the number.

The first number ‘6’ represents the bearing to be deep groove bearing.

The second digit ‘3’ bearing series which refer to the bearing toughness which is medium

The last two digit represents is the bore size of the bearing.We can get the diameter by multiple five to provide us a clear diameter(d) in mm this is one of the way to identify one of the ball bearing size by looking at the designation code.So what we can tell 6310 inner diameter is 50 mm.In bearing number the last digit or last second digit if it has 5 digits can indicate the bearing size.

The  table will helps to identify types of bearings by number Types of bearing and their code.

The  table will helps to identify types of bearings series toughness

How do we find bearing numbers?

One of the simplest ways to find the bearing number is to look for designation numbers. They are often engraved on the bearing’s surface. However, if they have been employed for a long time, the designation number may be wipe away owing to wear.To know the designation number we can take it’s inner diameter divided by five.

Nowadays, we are surrounded by technologies that allow our work simpler in such a way that we can devote our leisure time to ourselves rather than, for example, manually cleaning clothing or dishes. People enjoy life more when they have home appliances.

Other than that, air conditioner fan motors, range hood fan motors, washing machine motors, vacuum cleaner motors, and ceiling fan motors are the most common types of household electrical appliance motors. Motor manufacturers seek bearings of greater quality and performance to meet the increasingly severe standards of appliance makers.

1. Lower the noise and vibration

Household appliances are mostly used indoors. Excessive vibration and noise levels related with household equipment must be avoided as much as possible. Excessive vibration can cause equipment to break earlier. High vibration levels can use more energy. Feiken Bearing  provides a variety of bearing product that are very smooth and quiet in operation.

2. Energy conservation

The cost of electricity continues to rise on a continuous basis. Energy consumption reduction is becoming increasingly important. There are numerous strategies to minimise energy use. The most essential thing for bearings is to decrease internal friction by using low-friction oil, optimum seals, and shield design.

3. Less weight

The weight of a household appliance is quite essential in many applications, especially when it comes to a portable tool. It is now feasible to boost power density as a consequence of technical knowledge application to materials, better calculation tools, and integrated solutions. This enhancement has a significant influence on weight and size reduction while maintaining the highest level of dependability.

Bearings are a type of mechanical part, They are so important to the machine industry that they have been giving a important title such as the “bread and butter” of the industry. They are used in all kinds of machines including household appliances, but because they work in the shadows, most people who aren’t involved in the machine industry probably wouldn’t understand what is bearing but I will explain it in detail below.

Simplify it Bearings are parts that assist objects rotation in a machine. They support the shaft that rotates inside the machinery.Machinery that uses bearing I refer such as ac air conditioners compressor rotation of fans ,electric generators, Fans,automobiles,refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and many industries machine.

Mention back why they given the title of bread and butter because bearing support the rotating shaft of these equipment shafts , wheels,gears,turbines allowing them to rotate smoothly and basically if there is machine running there will be bearing inside.

Friction is occur between the rotating shaft and the part that supports the rotation refer to figure for example. Bearings are used between these two components.and protect the shaft and supports the rotation and also maintain the correct position of the rotation shaft.

Let examine how we reliant on bearings in our daily life. It’s difficult to imagine because we don’t often see bearing, right? take vehicle figure for example, everyone know a car and probably own one.If a car did not have bearings,The rotation would become more rough due to more friction and would consume a large amount of energy to rotate.The shaft rotation would break and tear very easily and for this reason people wouldn’t be able to drive car safely and comfortable.

Each bearing will have its ideal working speed as well as a maximum operating speed, thus machines that functions at high speed requires a different type of bearing compare to machines that runs at lower speed. The limitation speed of bearing is defined by the maximum speed at which the bearing is able to operate continuously without producing critical heat. The limiting speed varies based on the variation of elements such as bearing type, size, lubrication, lubricant type and quantity, cage and material forms including load circumstances.

Deep groove ball bearings are one of the examples of high-speed bearings. However, these bearings are incapable to withstand larger loads, that causes impact on the rotating speed of the bearing. Caged cylindrical roller bearings and needle bearings are prevalent, enabling higher loads operation. Again, this has an effect on the load carrying capacity of the bearing.

When a bearing with a low-speed rating is selected, which is most likely to malfunction soon due to fatigue, resulting in costly downtime and demands for replacement.

Agricultural machines come in a wide range of applications, starting with the most basic machinery such as soil tillage machine, irrigation equipment along with harvesting machine then progressing to more specialised ones like manure spraying machine and harvest processing machines.  To enhance their performance and reliability, these machines require the use of precise and specific bearings. Besides that, agricultural machinery must be energy efficient, and have a high weight carrying capacity, along with the ability of tolerating harsh climatic conditions including heat, dampness, muck, and dust.

To navigate through areas with hard and/or heavy soil, equipments with high mechanical strength are required. The two typical bearing designs used to achieve high load capacity are the double-row roller bearing along with double row angular contact ball bearing in which the two rows of rollers with various diameters aid in accomplishing a trade-off between maximum load capacity and reducing frictional losses.

Furthermore, agricultural equipment bearings and gearboxes are subjected to extreme weather conditions such as dampness, dirt, and dust. Equipment used for tilling and sowing activities in the spring or during the rainy season must be able to function in damp and wet conditions. Harvesting equipment must be able to endure dust and high temperatures in order to be utilised during the hot summer months. All of these factors raise the possibility of lubricant contamination, which can diminish the bearings’ and gears’ performance and shorten their service life. As a result, bearing seals in such equipment must be built to endure moist and wet, as well as dry and dusty circumstances.

When a bearing fails, it indicates the ineffectiveness of the bearing motion. The machine shaft would eventually fail without sufficient bearing action, resulting in machine damages and break downs. In this article, Feiken Bearing would explain more to readers regarding the factors of bearing failure and ineffectiveness.

The above pie chart displays better illustration of the statistics underlying common bearing failure reasons. By learning this article, readers are exposed to the knowledge of these potential problems and may help to prevent bearing malfunctions.

1. Lubrication Failure

Improper lubrication is the main common causes of bearing failure. The factors of damaged bearing due to lubrication failure are such as an improper lubricant used, lack of lubricant applied, or the bearing has been subjected to extreme temperatures that have caused the lubricant to deteriorate.

2. Misalignment

Apart from lubrication failures, bearing misalignment is the second most prevalent cause of early bearing failure. When the faces of the inner and outer rings are not parallel, rolling element bearings are misaligned. The inner ring on the shaft or the outer ring in the housing might be crooked.

3. Corrosion and Contamination

Contaminants in bearing components, such as dirt, sand, water, and chemical compounds, creates a variety of problems. These contaminants reduces the flow of lubricant fluids leading to bearing surface corrosion, disruption of the oil layer, and erosion, that would result in increase of the friction on bearing.

4. Fatigue

Fatigue is a condition where bearing surfaces or raceways had fractures causing the removal of tiny pieces of bearing materials such as metal and other particles. If this fatigue continuously spreads, it can lead the bearing to failure and malfunctioned.

The shaft size and application requirements specify the bearing size. Bearing size has a sginificant impact on the performance and capacity of a ball bearing; as a result, different sizes are used in different sectors.

Basically, smaller ball bearings have lower load capabilities, thus they are utilised in applications where space efficiency exceeds load capacity. Miniature bearings, which are often manufactured as precise ball bearings, are utilised in extremely small applications such as medical equipment, robotics, and semiconductor equipment. On the other hand, larger bearings have higher load capacities and are required in heavy-duty sectors including farm machinery, mining and drilling equipment, along with power tools.

Feiken Bearing will explain further in detailed on how to measure the bearing size by using vernier calliper. Vernier calliper can easily provide an accurate measurement for inner and outer bearing sizes.

1. First, measure the inner diameter of the bearing by placing the calliper’s outer anvils into the inner ring. Check whether its only fitting is from edge to edge and not too tight or putting extreme pressure on the bearing.
2. Place the bearing in the calliper jaws and measure the outside diameter until it fits precisely.
3. Alternatively, both inner and outer can be measured using a ruler from one inner/outer edge to the other.
4. Follow the previous procedure for the bearing’s width.
5. Lastly, check the bearing series code on bearing size chart based on the measurement attained.