Why a Spherical Ball Bearing Is a Better Option for Various Applications in Industry?

Spherical Ball Bearing

There are hardly any applications that do not use bearings in industrial sectors. Their importance is inexplicable for these mechanical components that enable smooth rotational movements of the machine parts and manage alignment problems during heavy loads. Among these bearings, a spherical bearing is typically used in applications that ask for handling heavy radial and axial loads in both directions. It comes in different design variants to accommodate self-alignment.

With inner and outer raceways spherically designed to have “convex outside” and “concave inside” diameter, a spherical plain bearing has the forces acting on it static or occur when making recurrent slewing or oscillating movements at comparatively low speeds.

Some Advantages of Using a Spherical Plain Bearing

Being the best choice for applications that demand total design economy, spherical ball bearings state-of-the-art components that come in various design variants, sizes, and dimension series to meet the requirements of certain applications. The following are some of the advantages of using this bearing:

• The raceway designs allow the bearing to manage angular misalignment or alignment errors through self-alignment.
• Any excessive stressing or edge stresses of adjoining components are virtually eliminated, even in the case of a bearing with a compact design.
• It can handle both heavy radial and axial loads in two directions.
• Provides high operational reliability even in applications with light-weight constructions
• Allows the use of cost-saving welded assemblies and manage wide manufacturing tolerances.

Get to Know the Uses of Spherical Ball Bearings in Industry

With two-row ball bearings and a sphered outer ring raceway, a spherical ball bearing undergoes self-alignment without having any misalignment problems. You can find this bearing in three design variants like open bearings with a basic design, bearings having incorporated seal and wider inner ring open bearings. 

The other variations in design include radial spherical plain bearing, angular spherical plain bearing and thrust spherical plain bearing. They are recognized for handling heavy loads, high dependability, long service life and minimal maintenance. Some of the areas where these bearings are used with maintenance are in agricultural machinery, rolling mill equipment, cranes, fork-lift trucks, hydraulic cylinders, mineral processing equipment, fitness machines, stabilizers, etc. 

There are other applications where spherical plain bearings are used without any maintenance and some of them are textile machinery, conveyors, industrial robots, switching levers, beverage treatment machines, and so on. The multiple holes and grooves on the rings help self-lubrication at regular intervals during operation.