Fag Bearings India Limited, India

Connaught Place, 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.

Selection of a suitable standard bearing - or the decision to use a non-standard bearing - must take performance requirements and operating limitations into consideration. This may involve conflicts which must be resolved to reach a practical solution. Each performance requirement, such as speed, torque or load rating, usually generates its own specifications which can be compared with available bearing characteristics. If a standard bearing does not meet the requirements, a design compromise will be necessary in either the assembly or the bearing. At this point, the creation of a special bearing should be explored. Among the most important application considerations which need to be evaluated are speed and load conditions. Specific bearing design choices should be based on anticipated operating conditions. Design choices include: Materials (balls and rings - hybrid bearings)Bearing typeBearing size and capacityClosuresInternal design perametersCagesPreloading (duplexing)LubricationTolerances and geometric accuracy