Roller bearing housings prevent incorrect fitting

SKF's Pop Release spherical roller bearing housings overcome the possibility of incorrect fitting and make dismantling for service simplicity itself.

SKF's Pop Release spherical roller bearing housings overcome the possibility of incorrect fitting and make dismantling for service simplicity itself.

Indeed, all that is needed to effect a speedy change of bearing is a spanner and an Allen key - rather than a sledgehammer and a plethora of fitting and removal tools! To fully appreciate the benefits of the SKF Pop Release system, the traditional fitting requirements should first be considered.

When mounting a traditional bearing assembly, the bearing and adapter sleeve must first be mounted on the shaft, with the lock nut being tightened until the initial internal radial clearance of the bearing has been reduced by a specific amount.

This operation requires the expertise of a skilled fitter.

The bearing is greased and then positioned, together with the shaft assembly, within the housing, with the seals having been fitted at the appropriate time.

Next, the space in the lower half of the housing must be filled with grease, the housing cap is then bolted to the lower half of the housing and, finally, the attachments bolts are tightened.

With Pop Release, the bearing unit is simply pushed along the shaft to its required position, the axial set screws are adjusted and the attachment bolts tightened.

There is no need for a special tightening tool and there is no risk of tilting the inner ring, which may occur if brute force is applied in conventional bearing mountings.

Within the Pop Release design, SKF has effectively combined the principal benefits of sealed bearing units, namely easy assembly and mounting, with those of split plummer block housings, such as less fretting and easier dismounting.

There is a patented multi-tapered sleeve arrangement through which the Pop Release bearing unit achieves almost a 360ø interference fit with the shaft.

This permits the use of less expensive commercial grade shafts and eliminates gouging of the shafts from set screws.

At the same time, the interference fit minimizes fretting corrosion between the bore and the shaft.

It is the multi-tapered, or stepped, design which is the fundamental breakthrough.

The bearing inner ring has machined steps in the bore, which correspond with those machined on the sleeve.

The bearing is pushed onto the shaft and the set screws are located, by number and size, to give the correct clearance in the bearing.

The internal sleeve releases its interference fit on the shaft by means of set screws positioned opposite those at the mounting side.

Normally, the sleeve releases its fit with a "pop" from which the housing gets its name.

Once released, the unit can be slid off the shaft.

SKF Pop Release spherical roller bearings are available for shaft diameters from 35mm up to 75mm in 5mm increments.

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