Spherical Plain Bering- General Facts on Bearings and Their Working

Pillow block bearings are the most commonly used type of mounting units. These are designed to provide shaft support where the mounting surface is parallel to shaft axis. The bolt holes are slotted for the purpose of adjustment. These types of bearings are usually used in heavy duty applications. Pressed steel pillow block bearings are also available for light duty applications. The type of the pillow block is determined by the rolling material used by it. Bearing housings can either be split or unsplit.
 

Spherical Plain Bearing

 
Split bearings are two-pieced where the base and the cap can be detached from one another. The other type of bearing is unsplit and it is made as a single solid piece. It provides a clean environment to the housing to rotate free from contaminants. It also retains lubrication, either oil or grease, hence increasing its performance and duty cycle. It is made up of Grey cast iron of various grades and other metals like steel, stainless steel, and types of thermoplastics.

What are angular contact ball bearings and why choose them:

Angular contact ball bearings consist of inner and outer rings that are displaced relative to each other in the direction of bearing axis. These types of bearings are designed to accommodate combined loads that are simultaneously acting radial and axial loads. The carrying capacity of angular contact ball bearings depends upon the contact angle.

The contact angle is nothing but the angle between the points of contact ball and the raceways in radial plane.  The larger the contact angle, the higher the axial load supported.  The most commonly used designs are single row angular, double row angular and four points contact ball bearing.

Bicycles use angular-contact bearings in the headsets because the forces on these bearings are in both the radial and axial direction.     Ceramics like silicon nitride are used in manufacturing angular contact ball bearings due to their low density and thus can function well in high temperature environments.

Specifications of Spherical Plain Bearings:

A spherical plain bearing permits angular rotation about a central point in two directions within a specified angular limit. Spherical bearing consists of an outer ring and an inner ring and a locking feature that makes the inner ring connected to the outer ring in the axial direction.

The surface of both rings of spherical plain bearing are spherical and they slide against each other otherwise they incorporate a rolling element such as a race of ball-bearings, that allows lower friction. This design makes them particularly suitable for bearing arrangements where oscillating movements are required and can accommodate misalignment.

There are also other types of spherical bearings like rod ends, spherical ball bearings and spherical roller bearings.