Working principle and installation skills of thrust ball bearings

Thrust ball bearings are typically used on components with lower rotational speeds. Such as crane hooks, vertical water pumps, vertical centrifuges, jacks, low-speed reducers, etc. So what is the working principle of thrust ball bearings? Do you have any installation tips? Below we will analyze for you.

Thrust ball bearing is a type of separable bearing, in which the shaft ring and seat ring can be separated from the cage and steel ball components. The shaft ring is a ring that matches the shaft, and the seat ring is a ring that matches the bearing seat hole, with a gap between them and the shaft.

1. Thrust ball bearings can only withstand axial loads, while unidirectional thrust ball bearings can only withstand axial loads in one direction. Bidirectional thrust ball bearings can withstand axial loads in two directions.

2. Thrust ball bearings cannot limit the radial displacement of the shaft and have a very low limit speed. Unidirectional thrust ball bearings can limit axial displacement in one direction of the shaft and housing, while bidirectional bearings can limit axial displacement in two directions.

3. Thrust roller bearings are used to bear axial and radial combined loads mainly. But the radial load shall not exceed 55% of the axial load. Compared with other thrust roller bearings, this type of bearing has a lower friction coefficient, higher speed, and self-aligning performance.

4. Thrust cylindrical roller bearings and thrust needle roller bearings are suitable for low-speed applications, while thrust tapered roller bearings have slightly higher speeds than thrust cylindrical roller bearings.

After understanding the working principle of thrust ball bearings, I believe you also want to know the installation techniques of thrust ball bearings.

When installing thrust ball bearings, the perpendicularity of the shaft ring and the shaft centerline should be checked. The method is to fix the dial gauge on the end face of the box shell, so that the contact of the gauge is on the bearing shaft ring raceway and rotate the bearing while observing the dial gauge pointer. If the pointer is off center, it indicates that the shaft ring and the shaft centerline are not vertical. When the box shell hole is deep, an extended dial gauge can also be used for inspection. When the thrust bearing is installed correctly, its seat ring can automatically adapt to the rolling of the rolling element, ensuring that the rolling element is located on the upper and lower ring raceways. If installed in reverse, not only will the bearings not work properly, but the mating surfaces will also be severely worn. Due to the unclear difference between the shaft ring and the seat ring, extra care should be taken during assembly to avoid making mistakes. In addition, there should be a gap between the seat ring of the thrust bearing and the bearing seat hole to compensate for errors caused by inaccurate machining and installation of the parts. When the center of the bearing ring is offset during operation, this gap can ensure its automatic adjustment, avoid contact friction, and enable it to operate normally.