Spherical roller bearings offer performance improvements

Paul Boughton
A new range of spherical roller bearings is now available that is claimed to offer up to 60 per cent longer service life, higher limiting speeds, increased load ratings and lower energy consumption, resulting in reduced operating costs.

Schaeffler Group's FAG E1 spherical roller bearings with outside diameters larger than 320mm are now available in X-life premium quality versions, providing significantly improved bearing performance. The improvements in quality, performance and running accuracy were achieved by developing new cages and rollers with new dimensions and crowned faces. By upgrading the standard FAG E1 spherical roller bearings to X-life quality, customers benefit from a 15 per cent increase in load ratings, 50 per cent higher limiting running speeds and up to 60 per cent longer service life compared to their predecessors. This means that in applications where bearing performance specifications remain unchanged, customers can reduce costs by downsizing and installing smaller, more cost-effective bearings.

Schaeffler's FAG range of spherical roller bearings is suitable for demanding operating environments, particularly for applications in which very high load-carrying capacity and reliability are key design criteria. The spherical roller bearings support axial forces in both directions and high radial forces.

Many bearing sizes within Schaeffler's spherical roller bearing range can now be converted to X-life quality. These bearings have no central rib on the inner ring and are therefore able to use longer barrel rollers. In addition, the bearings benefit from improved kinematics, optimised surfaces and are made from higher-performance materials. As a result, the basic dynamic load rating and basic rating life (under identical operating conditions) are significantly improved. In some applications, this means a smaller bearing can be specified.

For customers, these benefits translate into higher machine availability, new design possibilities, more economical bearing supports due to downsizing, and lower operating costs due to reduced energy consumption.

For more information, visit www.schaeffler.co.uk

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