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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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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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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Bearing grease consistency can greatly impact performance.

Bearing grease consistency can greatly affect the performance of the bearing and consequently the performance of the mechanical device or product.

Most people are familiar with the term “viscosity” as the measurable consistency of oil lubricants.  However, the average person probably does not know what the equivalent measurement for the consistency of grease (hint: it’s not viscosity). Bearing grease consistency is measured in “penetration levels.”

AST Bearings has created a mini white paper which covers the topic of “Bearing Grease Consistency.”  In it the following topics are covered:
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