Bearings are structural units of mechanisms and machines. Their task is to support or guide axles as well as various shafts. In the event that the journal of the shaft in the bearing slides along the bearing surface itself, this is a plain bearing. But in the presence of rollers or balls between the shaft neck and the directly supporting surface, they are called rolling bearings. The main task of bearings of all kinds is to reduce friction forces between machine parts that move with fixed structural elements, because it is because of these forces that heating, wear, and frequent energy losses occur during operation.
Sliding bearing - what is it?
In fact, it is a massive metal support with a cylindrical hole. It is in it that the sleeve is installed, and sometimes the liner, which is based on anti-friction material. The trunnion, or, more simply, the shaft neck, which has a small gap, must enter the bore of the sleeve of the bearing itself. Bearings must be lubricated to reduce friction and wear.
The sleeve bearing has a number of performance characteristics, which are determined based on its dimensions, as well asseveral additional features. These include the speed at which the shaft rotates and the viscosity that the lubricant has.
In order to lubricate the plain bearing, you can resort to using any liquid with a sufficient degree of viscosity. It can be water, various oils, kerosene, as well as gasoline, emulsions based on water and oil, metals that have a liquid structure. In practice, lubricants are also used, which are in a solid and plastic state, but they cannot be compared with liquid materials in terms of lubricating properties.
What is a rolling bearing
The basis of his work is rolling friction, whereas in the previous form, sliding friction was considered the main idea. The main role in bearings of this type is played by rolling elements, which take on the main load. Thanks to this simple idea, it is possible to significantly reduce energy loss during friction, as well as improve the wear-resistant qualities of structural elements.
Today, rolling and plain bearings are widely used. Their simple design and durability have made the parts very popular and indispensable in many applications.
The spherical plain bearing is a self-aligning component that allows movement when misaligned. As for its inner ring, it has a convex shape of the outer contour. The outer ring in its own waystructure, respectively, concave shape. Such a bearing is designed to be affected by static forces that occur during oscillatory movements. It is indispensable for rotations that repeat with periodic frequency and, of course, during low bearing rotation speeds.
