John Wallace, VP of Operations for AST Bearings talks about the various materials that bearings are made of.

Another interview by Machine Design Magazine’s editor Lee Teschler with AST Bearing’s VP of Operations, John Wallace.  This time, they talk about the wide variety of materials that bearings are made of and some of the applications of these materials. The link below will take you to Machine Design Magazine’s website for the actual video:

http://machinedesign.com/video/bearings-material-ast-bearings-0628

Video Interview Discusses Various Bearing Steels

Most bearings today are made of steel, specifically SAE 52100 Chrome Steel.  However, there have been many advancements in alternative steels that present specific advantages over traditional chrome steel. John Wallace explains what some of these steels are and how they are made including Martensitic steels such as 440C, ACD34, and the very latest “SV30” super stainless steel. The video goes into some depth to explain how the SV30 steel is nitrogen enhanced and how it creates Chromium Nitrides rather than Chromium Carbides leading to a bearing with superior low noise characteristics, along with increase life and vastly improved corrosion resistance.
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AST Bearings has published numerous white papers about bearings.

Ever wonder how to calculate the life of a ball bearing?  Did you ever need to calculate a radial ball bearing’s load rating?  AST Bearings just published a white paper entitled “Radial Ball Bearings – Life and Load Ratings.”  In its technical discussion of life and load ratings, the paper discusses various aspects of the radial ball bearing calculations including:

• Basic dynamic load rating
• Life formula
• Adjusted life formula
• Reliability factor
• Material factor
• Operating conditions
• Basic static load rating
• Equivalent dynamic bearing load “P”
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Did you know that Montville, New Jersey (the location of AST Bearings’ headquarters) was recently named the 17th best small town in the United States in which to live?  That’s right, Money Magazine named Montville the 17th best small town in the entire country to live in… the number one small town in all of New Jersey.

Money Magazine’s selection criteria included towns with populations between 8,500 and 50,000, and considered median family incomes, quality of life, real estate, education, and much more.

Money Magazine’s Top 100 List of Best Small Towns
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/top100/

Money Magazine’s Snapshot of Montville, NJ
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/CS3447670.html

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John Wallace, VP of Operations for AST Bearings talks about bearing lubrication.

An interview by Machine Design Magazine’s editor Lee Teschler with AST Bearing’s VP of Operations, John Wallace talking about the complexities of bearing lubrication and many of the solutions available. The link below will take you to Machine Design Magazine’s website for the actual video:

http://machinedesign.com/video/bearing-lubrication-ast-bearings-0628

Bearing Lubrication Services and Resources

To learn more about AST Bearings’ lubrication services, please visit: Bearing Lubrication and Relubrication/Re-lube Services at: www.ASTBearings.com/Lubrication.html

We also have a white paper available about Bearing Lubrication downloadable free-of-charge at: www.ASTBearings.com/Bearing-Lubrication.html

Are you a mechanical engineer who has a question about bearings? Do you know the optimum bearing configuration for your design? Are you stuck on your design trying to determine the best type of bearing to use? How can you ensure that your product will not fail in the field due to premature bearing failure? What factors may lead to premature failure? Will the standard lubrication used by the factory be the best choice in your product over its expected life (what is the standard lube anyway)?

There are so many great questions about bearings that are highly dependent upon the specific product they are used in and the running environment. If you need help with any of them, ask AST Bearings, we’re bearing experts.

If you are an engineer, designer, or purchaser of bearings and have a quick question about bearings, just use our “Ask A Question” form.

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Go to AST Bearings' Interactive Online Catalog

Just in time for the holidays and new year, AST Bearings now has over 10,000 bearing products included on their interactive online catalog (10,024 products to be exact) in 8 product categories and 40 sub-categories. Each has downloadable 3D CAD models available free of charge and includes full specifications. AST just completed a major update to the catalog by adding or updating nearly 1,000 products over the past month or so. Please check it out and let us know what you think of it. Learn more…

Spherical bearings come in many different types to accommodate a wide variety of applications. What all of them have in common is the ability to accommodate misalignment from mounting or shaft deflection.

• Spherical Ball Bearings
• Spherical Roller Bearings
• Spherical Plain Bearings
• Spherical Rod End Bearings

Spherical Ball Bearings

More commonly known as Self-Aligning Double Row Ball Bearings, spherical ball bearings are designed to work in applications where severe misalignment exists whether from mounting or shaft deflection. The concave raceway of the outer ring in combination with two rows of balls operates over a wide range of contact angles. Furthermore it aligns itself correctly with the shaft and assembly without causing undue stress on the rest of the bearing assembly. Noteworthy is that the self-aligning ball bearing has the lowest friction of all rolling bearings, which enables it to run cooler even at high speeds. Furthermore, the design allows for easy mounting and dismounting.

Visit our web page dedicated to Self-Aligning Double Row Ball Bearings for more information about Spherical Ball Bearings. 
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An example of a separable ball bearing capable of 350,000 RPM's from GRW

At first glance the design of a ball bearing is clear: An inner ring is mounted with an outer ring, the appropriate balls and retainer. Then the ball bearing is combined with the lubricant adapted to the requirements of use and if necessary a shield to protect against contamination.

Due to the numerous norms and installation recommendations in the area of the rolling bearing the external dimensions of the various ball bearing manufacturers only differ in nuances. The big differences become obvious in the internal values of the ball bearing, the materials used for rings and retainers, number of balls and their diameter, surface structure and profile precision, as well as the lubricant used.
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The GRW bearing factory manufactures and ships to AST German-made, precision miniature ball bearings in as little as 6 weeks!

Today, ten weeks seems to be the minimum time to receive precision ball bearings ordered directly from a factory regardless of where they are manufactured.  Some factories have been quoting 180 days or more to receive product.  Did you know that you can receive German-made, precision miniature ball bearings in only six weeks from issuing a purchase order?

GRW Bearings – An Exceptional German Factory

Yes, six weeks is the normal turnaround for the GRW Bearings’ factory to produce and ship orders to AST Bearings.  GRW offers short development times and modern production facilities to fulfill all requirements in precision and function. If you don’t know about GRW Bearings, you should.  GRW is a German miniature ball bearings manufacturer of some of the highest quality products available anywhere in the world including ABEC 9 precision level products.  All this is available through AST Bearings, the only authorized, full-line stocking supplier of GRW bearings in the United States.

Exclusive SV30 Steel Also Available in Only 6 Weeks

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CAD Drawing of a Steel-on-Steel Spherical Plain Bearing with Extended Inner Ring

Spherical Plain Bearings are also sometimes referred to as “Spherical Plane Bearings, Spherical Ball Bushing Bearings, or Ball Bushings. They are manufactured in a wide variety of materials and are designed to offer bearing solutions in almost any operating environment. Spherical Plain Bearings are suitable for heavy-duty, off-highway vehicles, agricultural equipment, and are used in equipment in heavy industries such as construction, mining, and logging along with the hydraulic equipment using in packaging, textiles, and robotics industries.

Spherical Plain Bearings – Characteristics

Spherical Plain Bearings have an inner ring with a sphere convex outside surface and an outer ring with a correspondingly sphere, but concave inside surface. Their design makes them particularly suitable for bearing arrangements where alignment movements between shaft and housing have to accommodate, or where oscillating or recurrent tilting movements must be permitted at relatively slow sliding speeds.

New Technical Papers Are Now Available on Spherical Plain Bearings

AST Bearings publishes 7 new technical papers on Spherical Plain Bearings

AST Bearings in support of educating engineers and designers has just published seven new technical papers which help describe Spherical Plain Bearing characteristics.  These papers are available now for reading and downloading:

• Spherical Plain Bearings – Overview
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Life and Load Ratings
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Internal Clearance
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Mounting and Fitting
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Lubrication
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Tolerances
• Spherical Plain Bearings – Nomenclature (part numbering system)

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