Ball Bearing
Bearing
Bearings can vary in size from as small as
a pin head to the size of a family car! They can have varying sizes and shapes
of rolling elements made from Steel, Stainless Steel and Ceramics. Their primary
function is to reduce friction, carry loads and guide moving parts. Basically
anything in our lives that has a rotating shaft will have a bearing of one kind
or another. The different bearing types often dictate their uses and
applications. Here, we mainly talk about Ball Bearing.
What
is ball bearing?
A ball bearing is a type
of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the
separation between the bearing races.
The History of Ball Bearing
More than 4500 years ago, Egyptians used
cylindrical rollers to move the large heavy blocks of stone needed for the
pyramids, foreshadowing the use of ball bearings. Similar techniques were used
in the creation of Stonehenge years later. In
1794, ball bearings supporting a carriage axle appeared in a patent filed by
Philip Vaughan. In 1869, a bicycle mechanic in Paris, Jules-Pierre Suriray,
patented a steel ball-bearing design for bicycles.
The Uses
of Ball Bearing
Ball bearings are used in many types of
equipment and machines to reduce friction, to reduce component part wear and
tear, and to eliminate the need for frequent component part replacement. The
concept for ball bearings is elegant yet simple: Substituting a rolling
component (ball) for a sliding component reduces the generation of friction.
The
basic parts of a ball bearing include:
1) Inner Race
This is the part that is mounted on the
rotating shaft and tends to rotate the shaft.
2) Outer Race
This is the part that is mounted to the
housing and is stationary. This also serves as a means for transferring the
loads from the bearing to the housing.
3) Rolling Element “Balls”
These are the elements that carry the load
distributing it throughout the raceways. They tend to rotate about the inner
race, but not at the speed the inner race rotates. It is something like the
relation between the earth and the moon.
4) Cage
This is an important element in the
bearing. This acts as a barrier between the balls preventing them from bumping
into each other.
The
Advantage of Ball Bearing
1)
Power Saving
2)
Lubrication and Labor Saving
3)
Reliability
4)
Cleanliness
5)
Reduced Fire Hazards
6)
Increased Production
7)
Increased Life of Assiciated
Equipment