Symptoms:
• High vibration and wear (caused by denting of the raceways and balls).
Prevention: • Always keep your hands, work areas, tools, and fixtures clean. • Keep bearings in their original packing until they are ready to be installed, and keep grinding operations away from bearing assembly locations. • Seals are essential because faulty or damaged seals cannot protect bearings from foreign contaminants.
Preventive Measures for Common Bearing Problems
How to prevent bearing contamination
How to prevent misalignment
Symptoms:
• An unusual rise in bearing or housing temperature. • Heavy wear in the cage ball-pockets.
Most prevalent causes:
• Bent shafts. • Dirt or burrs on the shoulders of housing or shaft. • Shaft threads are not square with shaft seats. • Locking nuts with faces that are not square to the thread axis.
Appropriate corrective actions:
• Perform inspections of shafts and housings for runout of shoulders and bearing seats. • Use of ground threads solely on hardened shafts and single point-turned or ground threads on non-hardened shafts. • Using lock nuts of the highest precision grade.
• An unusual rise in bearing or housing temperature. • Heavy wear in the cage ball-pockets.
Most prevalent causes:
• Bent shafts. • Dirt or burrs on the shoulders of housing or shaft. • Shaft threads are not square with shaft seats. • Locking nuts with faces that are not square to the thread axis.
Appropriate corrective actions:
• Perform inspections of shafts and housings for runout of shoulders and bearing seats. • Use of ground threads solely on hardened shafts and single point-turned or ground threads on non-hardened shafts. • Using lock nuts of the highest precision grade.
How to fix overloaded bearings
Appropriate corrective actions:
• Reduce the weight that the bearing can handle or redesign it with another bearing with greater load capacity. • Add bearings or alter bearing size to relieve pressure on each individual bearing (if high axial or radial loads are the cause of overloading). • An angular contact bearing can be optimised for a particular type of load by adjusting the contact angle.
• Reduce the weight that the bearing can handle or redesign it with another bearing with greater load capacity. • Add bearings or alter bearing size to relieve pressure on each individual bearing (if high axial or radial loads are the cause of overloading). • An angular contact bearing can be optimised for a particular type of load by adjusting the contact angle.
How to cure overheating
Symptoms:
• Discolouration (from gold to blue) of the balls, rings, and cages.
Causes:
• Insufficient lubrication or cooling. • Inadequate heat paths. • Heavy electrical heat load.
Cure:
• Additional lubricant cooling. • Sufficient heat path. • Thermal or overload controls.
• Discolouration (from gold to blue) of the balls, rings, and cages.
Causes:
• Insufficient lubrication or cooling. • Inadequate heat paths. • Heavy electrical heat load.
Cure:
• Additional lubricant cooling. • Sufficient heat path. • Thermal or overload controls.
How to solve normal fatigue failure
Symptoms:
• Fracture on the running surfaces and the subsequent removal of tiny, discrete particles of material.
Solver:
• Replace the bearing or re-design it to use a bearing with a longer calculated fatigue life.
• Fracture on the running surfaces and the subsequent removal of tiny, discrete particles of material.
Solver:
• Replace the bearing or re-design it to use a bearing with a longer calculated fatigue life.
How to extend the life of lubricants
Symptoms:
• Discolouration (blue/brown) of balls and ball tracks.
Lubricant life extension:
• Correct the improper fit. • Control preload better. • Cool the shafts and housings down.
• Discolouration (blue/brown) of balls and ball tracks.
Lubricant life extension:
• Correct the improper fit. • Control preload better. • Cool the shafts and housings down.
How to prevent corrosion
Symptoms:
• Discolouration (red/brown) of ball areas, bands of balls, raceways, and cages.
Prevention:
• Diverting corrosive fluids away from bearing areas and, whenever possible, using integrally sealed bearings. • The use of external seals in addition to internal seals should be taken into consideration if the environment is hazardous. • It is also recommended to use stainless steel bearings.
• Discolouration (red/brown) of ball areas, bands of balls, raceways, and cages.
Prevention:
• Diverting corrosive fluids away from bearing areas and, whenever possible, using integrally sealed bearings. • The use of external seals in addition to internal seals should be taken into consideration if the environment is hazardous. • It is also recommended to use stainless steel bearings.
Aug 28,2023