The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing Thrust Roller Bearings manufacturer

When two objects rotate about the centerline of an object but not in a straight line, a thrust bearing is needed to keep the shaft centered. A thrust bearing is a bearing on which a shaft is thrust axially against another part. 

Beijing SKF contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

It is a type of rolling-element bearing that permits rotation about an axis parallel to the bearing axis. Thrust bearings can support axial loads, thrust, or moment. 

The bearing is designed to allow axial loads in both directions. This type of bearing is used whenever axial loads are applied to the shaft. Thrust bearings provide high rigidity, high stiffness, and high speed.

Thrust bearings have a vast range of applications, including mining, car manufacturing, medical, and aerospace. 

In this blog, we'll see in detail how to thrust bearings work, their types and how to pick the right one for your application.

How Do Thrust Bearings Work?

Thrust bearings usually include a shaft, a cage, a thrust washer, a thrust ball bearing, and a nut. A thrust bearing can provide axial support, provide rotational support, and dissipate axial thrust. Thrust bearings are distinguished by the support they provide. 

• They can support rolling elements, such as balls, rollers, or cylindrical rollers.
• They can support axial forces, such as hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders. 
• They can also support rotational forces, such as from an electric motor or engine.

In a thrust bearing assembly, the thrust washer is located between the cage and the shaft. The thrust washer distributes the axial force applied by the shaft across the cage. The thrust washer also prevents any axial movement of the cage relative to the shaft.

Thrust ball bearings are often used to support and rotate shafts. They are composed of an inner ring, outer ring, and balls. The balls are pressed tightly together in the inner and outer rings. The outer ring is stationary, while the inner ring rotates. The balls roll freely between the inner and outer rings, and the balls inhibit the axial movement of the shaft.

How to Choose Thrust Bearings?

Thrust bearings are identified by: 

• The size of the bearing ring (the outer diameter), 
• The bearing material,
• The bearing shape,
• The location of the bearing,
• The thrust washer and 
• The clearance between the raceway and the shaft. 

Thrust bearings are usually made from stainless steel, but they can also be made from carbon steel. Thrust bearings can be found in a variety of shapes, such as cylindrical, conical, and spherical.

Thrust bearings are classified by load rating and thrust load rating. You can find these details from the bearing manufacturer. 

Thrust bearings can also be classified by their shaft alignment. Shaft alignment is determined by the location of the thrust washer on the mounting surface of the bearing.

Our engineers at Hi-Bond help every one of our clients to choose the right type of thrust bearing based on these and several other elements. We are reliable bearing and bushes suppliers for many companies due to our attention to detail to help identify and procure the suitable thrust bearings based on the location and usage.

What Are the Types of Thrust Bearings?

There are many different types of thrust bearings and they can be broken down into three subcategories:

Cylindrical Thrust Bearings

Cylindrical thrust bearings are the simplest and most widely used type of thrust bearing. They are formed with a cylindrical housing with rollers and cages. Generally, cylindrical thrust bearings are used in lower thrust applications.

Tapered Thrust Bearings

Tapered thrust bearings are the most commonly used type of thrust bearing. They are formed with a tapered housing with rollers and cages. Tapered thrust bearings are designed to accommodate combined loads, i.e., simultaneously acting radial and axial loads.

Spherical Thrust Bearings 

Spherical roller thrust bearings offer the highest load rating density of all thrust bearings.

Based on these types, there are several types you can choose from: flange bearings, linear sleeve bearings, needle roller bearings with metal bushings and a lot more.

How to Take Care of Thrust Bearings?

Thrust bearings have unique design requirements. They include:

• High axial load capacity
• High-speed rotation capability
• High misalignment tolerance
• Low friction
• Low axial play

But there are also life-changing certain situations that can change the properties of thrust bearings and make them malfunction. 

Thrust bearing failure typically occurs in one of two places:

1. The thrust bearing may crack, break, deform, or separate from the shaft.
2. The thrust bearing may distort the outer ring, causing a portion to ride over the thrust washer.

1. Misalignment

One of the common reasons for thrust bearings failing is when the shaft they are supporting is misaligned. The thrust bearings are designed to support thrust loads applied on the shaft. When misalignment occurs, the thrust load becomes unbalanced, which places heavy torques on the bearing.

2. Contamination

Thrust bearings are prone to contamination. 

They are designed to withstand the shock loads and high flying speeds, and unlike radial bearings, they do not rotate. Instead, they bear the load of the aircraft as it turns. Thrust bearings are mounted in a fixed position, so debris that collects can block them from rotating. If the bearing is not entirely sealed, contaminants can creep in and destroy it.

And this can lead to thrust bearing failure. 

3. Excessive Loads

Thrust bearings can also fail when subjected to excessive thrust loads. The thrust loads should be evenly balanced between the inner and outer rings and between the races. 

Thrust bearing failure can lead to equipment failure, so it is important to install and maintain thrust bearings properly. When installing or removing a thrust bearing, always consult the manual provided by the bearing manufacturers.

At Hi-Bond, we offer various designs of thrust bearings of the highest quality. We help you choose the right one based on an exhaustive list of features to ensure that the bearings fit in well with your requirements. We are an experienced bearing manufacturing company that has supplied bearings for businesses from all over the world. 

 There are many different types of bearings available today with very little information on the differences between them. Maybe you've asked yourself 'which bearing will be best for your application?' Or 'how do I choose a bearing?' This bearing selection guide will help you answer those questions.

For more Thrust Roller Bearings manufacturerinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

First off, you need to know that most bearings with a rolling element fall into two broad groups:

1. Ball bearings
2. Roller bearings

Within these groups, there are sub-categories of bearings that have unique features or optimized designs to enhance performance.

In this bearing selection guide, we'll cover the four things you need to know about your application in order to choose the right type of bearing.

Find the Bearing Load & Load Capacity

Bearing loads are generally defined as the reaction force a component places on a bearing when in use.

When choosing the right bearing for your application, first you should find the bearing's load capacity. The load capacity is the amount of load a bearing can handle and is one of the most important factors when choosing a bearing.

Bearing loads can either be axial (thrust), radial or a combination.

An axial (or thrust) bearing load is when force is parallel to the axis of the shaft.

A radial bearing load is when force is perpendicular to the shaft. Then a combination bearing load is when parallel and perpendicular forces produce an angular force relative to the shaft.

To learn more about axial and radial ball bearings, contact our team of engineers!

How Ball Bearings Distribute Loads

Ball bearings are designed with spherical balls and can distribute loads over a medium-sized surface area. They tend to work better for small-to-medium-sized loads, spreading loads via a single point of contact.

Below is a quick reference for the type of bearing load and the best ball bearing for the job:

• Radial (perpendicular to the shaft) and light loads: Choose radial ball bearings (also known as deep groove ball bearings). Radial bearings are some of the most common types of bearings on the market.
• Axial (thrust) (parallel to the shaft) loads: Choose thrust ball bearings
• Combined, both radial and axial, loads: Choose an angular contact bearing. The balls contact the raceway at an angle which better supports combination loads.

Roller Bearings & Bearing Load

Roller bearings are designed with cylindrical rollers that can distribute loads over a larger surface area than ball bearings. They tend to work better for heavy load applications.

Below is a quick reference for the type of bearing load and the best roller bearing for the job:

• Radial (perpendicular to the shaft) loads: Choose standard cylindrical roller bearings
• Axial (thrust) (parallel to the shaft) loads: Choose cylindrical thrust bearings
• Combined, both radial and axial, loads: Choose a taper roller bearing

Bearing Runout & Rigidity

Bearing runout is the amount a shaft orbits from its geometric center as it rotates. Some applications, like cutting tool spindles, will only allow a small deviation to occur on its rotating components.

If you are engineering an application like this, then choose a high precision bearing because it will produce smaller system runouts due to the tight tolerances the bearing was manufactured to.

Bearing rigidity is the resistance to the force that causes the shaft to deviate from its axis and plays a key role in minimizing shaft runout. Bearing rigidity comes from the interaction of the rolling element with the raceway. The more the rolling element is pressed into the raceway, causing elastic deformation, the higher the rigidity.

Bearing rigidity is usually categorized by:

• Axial rigidity
• Radial rigidity

The higher the bearing rigidity, the more force needed to move the shaft when in use.

Let's look at how this works with precision angular contact bearings. These bearings typically come with a manufactured offset between the inner and outer raceway. When the angular contact bearings are installed, the offset is removed which causes the balls to press into the raceway without any outside application force. This is called preloading and the process increases bearing rigidity even before the bearing sees any application forces.

Bearing Lubrication

Knowing your bearing lubrication needs is important for choosing the right bearings and needs to be considered early in an application design. Improper lubrication is one of the most common causes for bearing failure.

Lubrication creates a film of oil between the rolling element and the bearing raceway that helps prevent friction and overheating.

The most common type of lubrication is grease, which consists of an oil with a thickening agent. The thickening agent keeps the oil in place, so it won't leave the bearing. As the ball (ball bearing) or roller (roller bearing) rolls over the grease, the thickening agent separates leaving just the film of oil between the rolling element and the bearing raceway. After the rolling element passes by, the oil and thickening agent join back together.

For high-speed applications, knowing the speed at which the oil and thickener can separate and rejoin is important. This is called the application or bearing n*dm value.

Before you select a grease, you need to find your applications ndm value. To do this multiply your applications RPMs by the diameter of the center of the balls in the bearing (dm). Compare your ndm value to the grease's max speed value, located on the datasheet.

If your n*dm value is higher than the grease max speed value on the datasheet, then the grease won't be able to provide sufficient lubrication and premature failure will occur.

Another lubrication option for high-speed applications are oil mist systems which mix oil with compressed air and then inject it into the bearing raceway at metered intervals. This option is more costly than grease lubrication because it requires an external mixing and metering system and filtered compressed air. However, oil mist systems allow bearings to operate at higher speeds while generating a lower amount of heat than greased bearings.

For lower speed applications an oil bath is common. An oil bath is when a portion of the bearing is submerged in oil. For bearings that will operate in extreme environments, a dry lubricant can be used instead of a petroleum-based lubricant, but the lifespan of the bearing is typically shortened due to the nature of the lubricant's film breaking down over time.

There are a couple of other factors that need to be considered when selecting a lubricant for your application, see our in-depth article 'How to Choose the Correct Ball Bearing Lubricant".

For more information, please visit One-Way Thrust Ball Bearings.