Whether you realize it or not, ball bearings are involved in many aspects of your life. They are in any machine with moving parts, as well as your car and your bike.
Cave drawings show that at the very beginning of civilization, people discovered that it was easier to move cumbersome things by placing them on top of a rolling log. Voila! Here you have the first bearing.
Although the main idea and design has not changed much, new ideas have been developed. What started as a wooden bearing, has graduated to what we have on the market today.
Which bearings offer the lowest friction? If you are choosing bearings for your machine or looking to customize an industrial application, you’ll want to know the answer to that question.
Read on as we explore the different kinds of frictionless bearings.
The Best Frictionless Bearings on the Market
Bearings were developed to help move things along with less friction. Typically, ball bearings still have some amount of friction. Because most bearings use a cage to keep the balls separate and evenly spaced, there is added friction. The remedy to this is to add grease.
What if bearings could be designed to work without the cage or metal or plastic framework? This would reduce friction without lubrication and make bearings virtually frictionless.
No-Cage Design
Coo Space, which is a Japanese engineering firm, has discovered a way to ensure that the balls stay evenly spaced without the need for the cage.
The Autonomous Decentralised Bearing (ADB) is the name of their product. It is designed with small indentations or divots.
The balls go into the divots as they roll over the track. This motion speeds up or slows down as the balls are rolling and they will never collide.
This invention makes the traditional cage design obsolete. Without the cage, the bearings have ten times less friction. Bonus: they never need lubrication because they are greaseless bearings.
These involve less energy. There will be fewer breakdowns in machines that use these new bearings.
These might just be the best bearings in the world!
Ceramic Bearings
The next best thing to the frictionless bearings mentioned above is ceramic bearings. Ceramic silicon nitride (Si2N4) is the material used to make ceramic bearings.
They are lower friction because they are rounder and smoother and more consistent in size. They are also harder making them more durable. Rust is not an issue either with ceramic bearings.
Heavy Industry Parts and Service
Bearings and other parts wear out over time. Whether you are in the market for frictionless bearings or crane wheels, we can help answer any of your questions.
Kor-Pak is committed to serving numerous industries. We are consistently focused on our customers’ needs and keep up with the changes in the industry.
Check out the information on our website and email or call us with your questions.