RBC Thin Section Ball Bearings Operating Conditions
RBC thin section ball bearings are engineered to solve a variety of design problems that cannot be solved with conventional ball bearings.
General Information
RBC Thin Section Bearing OPERATING CONDITIONS
Lubrication
Lubricants serve a number of very important purposes in ball bearings, including:
- protecting bearing surfaces from corrosion
- reducing rolling and sliding friction
- preventing metal-to-metal contact between balls and raceway
- providing a barrier against external contaminants (grease)
- removing heat (oil)
Lack of lubrication or inadequate lubrication is the most common cause of bearing failure.
Standard RBC Thin Section Ball Bearings are lubricated with either oil or grease. The unsealed bearings, the K series, are thoroughly coated in MIL-PRF-3150 or MILÂPRF-6085 oil and drained of excess. Sealed bearings are lubricated with MIL-PRF-23827 grease. The external surfaces of sealed bearings are lightly coated with the same grease for corrosion resistance. Additional lubricants are also available.
Temperature
Limiting Speed
The limiting speed of a bearing is dependent upon a number of different factors including bearing size, bearing type, ball separator design, lubrication and loading. The limiting speeds for the bearings shown are determined using the following:
| N = 1000 * k   with N = Speed (RPM) |
| E =Â D+BÂ (Bearing Pitch Diameter) 2 |
| k – constant, see table below |
The k values shown give the maximum speeds at which a typical thin section ball bearing can operate. It is recommended that operating speeds of large diameter bearings in a given series be reduced up to 40% of the calculated rating to avoid high bearing temperatures.
Speed ratings can also be impacted by load conditions, lubrication, alignment and ambient temperature. All of these factors must be considered when designing thin section ball bearings into your application.
| Â Bearing Type | Load Condition | k Value | |
| Grease | Oil | ||
| C or A | Radial or Thurst | 16 | 20 |
| X | Thrust | 10 | 12 |
| X | Radial, Combined Radial & Thrust or Moment | 3 | 4 |
