Spherical Roller Bearing

Spherical Roller Bearing are designed to withstand harsh environments and tough operating conditions. They are often used in vibratory machinery such as mining equipment and constructions machines.

The spherical outer raceway of these bearings helps to accommodate axial movements between shaft and housing where misalignment is allowed. They also handle high rotational speeds with stability and low friction.

Cage

The cage in a spherical roller bearing acts as a container that keeps the rolling elements separate. The cage is usually made from steel, brass or polyamide depending on the application and working environment.

NSKHPS series spherical roller bearings have a pressed steel window-type cage that eliminates the center guide ring for higher cage rigidity, stability and allows better lubrication flow to the roller surfaces. These design improvements allow for 20% higher limiting speeds than standard bearings, reducing operating temperatures and extending lubrication intervals.

Barrel rollers have a spherical contact surface that is designed to carry heavy radial loads and moderate axial loads. The barrel shape also enables the rollers to be oriented in opposite directions to resist thrust loads in either direction. Self-aligning spherical roller bearings have two rows of rollers and a common sphere outer raceway. This design makes them insensitive to misalignment between the shaft and housing. Self-aligning spherical bearings can also accommodate heavy axial loads in both directions.

Rollers

Spherical roller bearings can carry heavy radial loads, even in applications prone to misalignment or shaft deflection. They also have a good capacity for axial loads in both directions. They can withstand abrasion, impact and high temperatures, though they typically operate at lower speeds than other types of rolling bearings.

They can be mounted to a cylindrical or tapered shaft using an adapter sleeve, making them ideal for use in machinery with large bores. The sleeve is made of steel and has a tapered inner diameter that matches the spherical raceways inside the outer ring. The sleeve is split along its length, allowing it to be installed and removed without additional tools.

The cage that holds the rolling elements is usually made of pressed steel or machined brass, and it can be coated with chrome for improved strength or resistance to temperature. A spherical roller bearing can be lubricated with grease or oil, but it's important to choose one well-suited to the operating conditions and environment.

Seals

While spherical roller bearings are able to take on a variety of heavy industrial applications, they do require proper lubrication. This lubrication keeps the bearings protected against environmental contaminants and helps extend their operational life. To help with this process, sealed spherical roller bearings have a built-in seal that provides additional protection.

These seals prevent external contamination from entering the bearing, ensuring its lubrication stays in place. There are two different types of seals - contact seals and non-contact seals.

Contact seals are a great choice for harsh environments, as they can handle both radial and axial dynamic loads. The only drawback to this type of seal is that the direct contact can cause friction and heat that could lead to mechanical damage and contamination. This is why a non-contact seal should always be placed before a contact seal to provide additional protection for your bearings. Non-contact seals also offer higher speed capabilities than contact seals.

Design

The outer race of a spherical roller bearing is stationary and mounts into the housing, while the inner race supports a rotating shaft. This allows the bearing to sustain radial loads, as well as axial loads in either direction. However, these axial loads must be balanced by an equally distributed load across all rollers. This distribution decreases contact stresses and improves performance, quality, and durability.

A common design feature of spherical roller bearings is the use of dual raceways in the inner ring. This helps to evenly distribute the load and improve performance and precision, especially in high-speed applications.

In addition, spherical roller bearings are designed to self-align during operation. This self-alignment capability reduces friction and shock, extending the equipment operating life. This type of bearing also offers improved axial loading capacity as compared to other similar types of rolling bearings, including angular contact ball bearings. Additionally, the spherical shape of the bearing's roller raceways and cage increase axial load carrying capacities over the life of the bearing.