Special bearing designs aid cost and performance

The pressure to reduce costs in all areas of manufacturing means that the integration of bearing systems into mating components is proceeding apace.

The pressure to reduce costs in all areas of manufacturing means that the integration of bearing systems into mating components is proceeding apace.

The resulting assemblies are neater, quicker to put together and offer the additional benefits of reducing space and mass and also problems of tolerance stack-up.

The designs of bearings used in these integrated assemblies are in many cases special, calling upon manufacturers to provide the highest levels of innovation and manufacturing excellence in supplying bespoke solutions to what are (often) some of the most arduous operating conditions encountered by any equipment type.

Barden is at the forefront of this design transformation, producing both stand-alone and integrated special bearing designs, that improve performance and life in such areas as F1 motor sport, aerospace, medical testing, dentistry, machine tools, navigation and pumping systems.

The core of Barden's design for products in this area is the close integration of new materials, surface engineering, lubrication and sealing technologies.

In the area of materials technology Barden's new X-Life ring material has been used successfully in aerospace and non-aerospace applications, combining superior corrosion and wear resistance with the ability to withstand higher dynamic loads than conventional bearing steels.

In addition, when used in conjunction with ceramic balls, significant gains in bearing life and performance can be achieved.

In addition to new materials developments, Barden has also taken the lead in surface engineering technology.

The role of surface engineering in rolling bearing technology is becoming increasingly important as bearings get progressively smaller, but are still required to run faster, carry higher loads and operate reliably for longer periods.

In this field Barden works together with recognised leaders to provide advanced coatings and surface treatments that to combat friction, prevent corrosion and reduce wear, even under the harshest operating conditions.

The resulting benefits are improved performance, lower running costs and longer service intervals.

Lubrication also plays a major role in any special bearing design, recent developments by Barden have concentrated on extending the speed and temperature capabilities of greases to enable the replacement of oil in high speed applications.

This is important as removal of oil lubricating systems reduces component count, assembly time and overall system cost.

In addition, grease lubrication also meets the demands of many sectors of modern manufacturing for sealed for-life operation.

Barden's development efforts with greases have resulted in the introduction of Arcanol L75 a new generation high-speed grease.

Arcanol L75 is a Polyurea based grease that provides the overall performance improvements necessary to allow costly and complicated oil lubrication systems to be replaced with grease.

It has been developed for lifetime lubrication of sealed super precision ball bearings at high speeds: 1.4ndm for steel balls or 2.0 ndm for hybrids.

The grease also excels for its non-critical run-in behaviour, high temperature stability, nontoxicity and favourable viscosity-temperature behaviour.

The increasing use of grease in Barden's special bearing designs has, in turn, resulted in the development of a new generation of seals, both to retain the lubrication medium and to deny the ingress of contaminants.

Barden is at the forefront of seal design, as evidenced by a recent success in developing a solution to the previously intractable problem of providing seals in standard angular contact bearings.

Barden has solved this problem with its revolutionary RSD seal, a unit that enables pump manufacturers and machine tool spindle builders to enjoy the cost, life and maintenance-free benefits of grease lubrication, while enjoying complete bearing interchangeability.

The RSD seals have retention characteristics equal to standard seal designs, but are fitted in such a way that there is no contact with the bearing inner rings.

As a result, friction is minimised and there is no rise in the bearing operating temperature.

The Barden design also overcomes problems of ring distortion from seal radial pressure.

And it provides additional operational benefits as the space between seals and balls serves as a grease reservoir.

The extensive number of successful applications undertaken in demanding high technology industries evidences the effectiveness of Barden's special design capability.

In motor racing's top formula, F1, Barden has engineered a series of extreme high performance bearing systems for race-critical applications such as clutch release, gearbox, wheel and suspension.

The pedigree of Barden's clutch release bearing systems is well established.

The demand is to develop smaller, more efficient clutch systems, offering optimum performance with reduced mass.

Barden has responded by introducing new and advanced clutch release bearing designs incorporating special features such as integral metal shields, labyrinth-style architectures and high- temperature bespoke lubricants.

Barden also offers F1 gearbox bearings that are tailored to interface directly with the transmission designs of individual race teams.

These bearings incorporate bespoke features such as flanges, splines and thread forms as integral parts which, together with direct oil feed systems, help keep mass to a minimum and ensure optimum lubricant supply throughout each race.

Barden's special design capability is also much in evidence in aerospace markets.

The designs vary but have one thing in common, Super Precision ABEC 7/ISO P4 tolerances, as a result they provide high speed operation with excellent levels of reliability, quiet running and minimum power losses.

A number of different design configurations are available for use in electric starters and generators, gearboxes, main engines and a variety of auxiliary aircraft functions.

Bearing designs for these equipment areas range from standard deep groove ball bearings to intricate split inner ring designs that are manufactured from high temperature, high strength bearing steels and can accept reversing thrust and combination loads.

Although the demands on Barden's special aerospace designs are great they are equalled, and, in some cases, exceeded by the demands placed on special X-ray tube bearing designs.

These bearings are used to support the spinning X-ray anode, operating at speeds in excess of 10,000rev/min under harsh conditions.

In addition to withstanding the passage of high voltage, the bearings must also operate in a vacuum environment down to 10e-8torr and at temperatures of 400-500C.

Back to top