Fag Bearings India Limited, India Delhi

In any application proper attention to cage design and materials selection is essential to ensure reliable and long-term bearing performance. The role of cages, or separators as they are sometimes known, covers: They space the rolling elements apart equally and help lubricant distribution within the bearing. Separating the elements halves their running contact speed, allowing higher bearing speeds. They facilitate handling and installation of separable type bearings. Since they may be required to accelerate rapidly, bearing cages should be lightweight and be manufactured from materials that have superior strengthweight ratios. Traditionally used brass or bronze cages have good wear characteristics but steel cages are offered which provide excellent service but at a lower cost. They are favoured in applications for harsh environmental conditions or where bearings are subject to very high levels of vibration or extremes of heat. Alternatively, in some price sensitive applications, cages manufactured from high performance plastics are preferred.

• FeaturesCages - The standard cage is a two-piece steel ribbon type. Most sizes are available with a two-piece riveted phenolic, aluminium-reinforced type. Some sizes are available with a one-piece filled nylon snap-in type. Other options may be available.

Deep groove ball bearings have full shoulders on both sides of the raceways of the inner and outer rings and can accept radial loads, thrust loads in either direction, or a combination of loads.

BardenFAG offer an extensive global network of aerospace bearing repair facilities. Based on the understanding that modern aerospace applications demand bearings that combine the highest quality and reliability, the Barden and FAG repair stations can restore bearings to as-new condition in less time and for less cost, all to the high standards expected from aerospace experts. With facilities located in Germany, Canada and the USA, and with a new site soon to open in Singapore, superior repair services are offered worldwide.

Full complement ball bearings capitalise on the space usually occupied by the ball retainer, as removing the retainer enables additional balls to be fitted. This increase in ball complement allows for significant increases in bearing capacity in either axial or radial directions. Barden offers two basic designs of full complement bearings, each with different capabilities, limitations and fields of application.

The Barden product line encompasses predominantly radial, single row, super precision angular contact and deep groove ball bearings, incorporating full complement bearings and hybrid bearings as well as standard designs and materials. Bearings come in inch or metric dimensions with diameters ranging from 4mm (0.16") outer diameter (OD) up to 180mm (approx 7") OD and operate comfortably at speeds of 2 million dN (bore in mm x RPM) or above. A variety of bearing seals, shields and metallicnon-metallic cage designs are available for all products.

The superior engineering that goes into the design and production of Barden bearings makes them an obvious choice for advanced X-ray and medical scanner applications. The bearings, typically used to support the spinning X-ray anode, operate at speeds of up to 13, 000 rpm under extremely harsh conditions. In addition to withstanding the passage of high voltage, the bearing must also operate in a vacuum environment down to 10-8 torr and at temperatures of 400 - 500˚C. They are full complement bearing designs, incorporating a flanged shaft with integral races to which the target anode is attached. A separate flange made of lower thermal conductivity material can be welded to the shaft in order to reduce heat transfer from the anode. The bearings are built with controlled axial clearance in order to compensate for thermal growth at the operating temperature. Conventional outer rings are separated by spacers with either solid or spring X-Raypreloading designed to meet specific application requirements. Barden utilises advanced surface engineering technologies such as plasma and ion-beam assisted deposition to provide effective lubrication. With this application in mind, development of a range of advanced solid lubricants 2, 000 times thinner than the human hair is in progress. Barden also has a dedicated in-house testing facility to enable the evaluation and performance verification of its X-ray tube bearing designs under simulated thermal-vacuum test conditions.