Some Inherent Features of Spherical Plain Bearing and their Uses in Industry
When it comes to bearings, they are found to be indispensable in any machines that perform rotational movements. They come in different types to suit various applications and among them there are a few like a spherical plain bearing that is largely used in industry for the intrinsic features it holds. A standardized mechanical component, spherical bearings facilitate easy mounting and dismounting and they support “multi-directional operational movements”. Furthermore, they help self-alignment, offering no effect on alignment errors.
Spherical Plain Bearing | Image Resource : shutterstock.com
Recognized for its design, a spherical plain bearing is built to have toughened inner and outer steel rings, with “sphered convex outside diameter” and “sphered concave inside surface” respectively. This helps the bearing offer “high operational reliability” in the fields where heavy applications are involved.
The cutting-edge technology used in the design offers rolling elements in multiple rows set in two rings. The roller profiles, which are barrel-shaped complements the raceway profiles.
Advantages of Using Spherical Plain Bearing and Its Variants
Using this type of bearing gives you choices for there are variants such as spherical roller thrust bearing and spherical plain bearing, with rod ends if you are looking for total design economy, long life and minimal maintenance. Moreover, you can find it in different dimensions, designs and sizes to find its suitability in applications. The other important benefits of using a spherical plain bearing are:
Improved designs: Constant research on the design helps being in improved versions like the spherical plain bearings and rod ends, which are effectively used in heavy applications asking for high performance. The construction of the bearing is so that the raceways are made of hardened steel and they are phosphate treated for durability and dependability.
Easily maintained: The sliding contact surfaces of the bearing are made of high-quality steel, which is carbon chromium treated and phosphated. The bearing can withstand nonstop operation for it has special running-in lubricant and it will not ask for maintenance at regular intervals when handling high-static loads.
No need of lubrication: Designed to have multiple grooves, a spherical plain bearing does not require lubrication. The grooves on the inner and outer rings are of minimum 150 mm bore diameter and it enables easy re-lubrication. This is the prime reason why spherical plain bearings are majorly used in applications, accommodating small alignment movements at the time of heavy operational loads.
When it comes to choosing a bearing for handling multi-directional loads or combined axial and radial loads, the other types of bearings like the angular contact ball bearings, along with a spherical plain bearing is used. You can also find improved versions like the bearing pillow block units and with rod ends to suit different applications.