What are Ceramic Ball Bearings?

In the development and application of engineering ceramic products, ceramic ball bearings are a typical example of the widespread application of engineering ceramics in the industrial field, and have been highly valued by many countries. Among the high-speed precision bearings, hybrid ceramic ball bearings are used the most, that is, the rolling elements use hot-pressed Si3N4 ceramic balls, and the bearing rings are still steel rings. This kind of bearing has a high degree of standardization, small changes to the structure of the machine tool, easy maintenance, and is especially suitable for high-speed operation. The assembled high-speed electric spindle has the advantages of high speed, high rigidity, high power and long life. 1. Bearing configuration: inner / outer ring bearing steel / stainless steel + ceramic ball + PA66 / stainless steel retainer + 2RS / ZZ 2.High temperature grease, 3.Advantages of using ceramic ball bearings compared to ordinary bearings

Ceramic ball bearings

Because the ceramic ball itself has self-lubricating performance, the lubrication can be used according to the requirements of use, and it can be moisturized.

Practice has proved that as a bearing material, it must also have

Since ceramic ball bearings are an important mechanical base component,

Ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings are a wonderful work in the bearing category. They are a perfect combination of new technology, new materials and new structures. As the basic part for the rotation of carrier machinery, it has been widely used in various special environments and harsh environments due to its excellent performance unmatched by metal bearings. Because of its high temperature resistance, low temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, insulation, magnetic resistance, low density, high strength and other properties in the world of new materials.

In the past ten years, it has been used more and more widely in various fields of national economy and people's livelihood.

Ceramic ball bearings

In the fields of aerospace, navigation, nuclear industry, petroleum, chemical industry, light textile industry, machinery, metallurgy, electric power, new energy, food, locomotive, subway, high-speed machine tools and scientific research and defense military technology, it needs to be in high temperature, high speed, deep cold, Inflammable, explosive, strong corrosion, vacuum, electrical insulation, non-magnetic, dry friction, easy to rust and other special working conditions, the indispensable role of ceramic bearings is gradually being recognized. With the continuous progress of processing technology and the increasing level of technology, the cost of ceramic bearings has continued to decline. It has been applied in a small range of high, precision and sophisticated areas from the past, and has gradually been extended to various industrial sectors of the national economy. Mass production has gradually brought the market price closer to practicality, reaching a level acceptable to users. Tested in batches and long-term use in different industries. Many successful cases have realized the advantages of maintenance-free, long life, high stability, and low cost brought by ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings. Ceramic bearings and ceramic balls have moved from the research and trial production stage to the stage of mass production, and the wave of large-scale application has surged.

Classification of ceramic ball bearings

Divided by material: ceramic bearings can be divided into zirconia ceramic bearings, silicon nitride ceramic bearings, composite ceramic bearing.

Divided by structure: Ceramic bearings can be divided into: ceramic bearings with zirconia tape holder, ceramic bearings with silicon nitride tape holder, ceramic bearings with composite tape holder. General ceramic bearing retainer material is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a standard configuration, glass fiber reinforced nylon 66 (GRPA66-25), special engineering plastics (PEEK, PI), stainless steel (SUS316, SUS304), Brass (Cu), etc. Due to the problems of pocket processing and forming technology, ceramic material cages are still rarely used. Due to the material restrictions of the cages, special cages have been developed for zirconia full-ball bearings and silicon nitride full-balls for special applications. Full ceramic bearings and composite full ball ceramic bearings.

According to the completeness of the material: The main components of the ceramic bearings mentioned above are mostly ceramic materials, which are defined as ceramic bearings. If the inner and outer rings and rolling elements of the bearing are not made of ceramic materials, we It is defined as a hybrid ceramic bearing. The more widely used in hybrid ceramic bearings is that the ball uses ceramic materials called ceramic ball bearings, which can be divided into zirconia ceramic ball bearings and silicon nitride ceramic ball bearings.

Different materials and different structures of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings need to pay attention to the issues are different. For details, please consult the ceramic bearing and ceramic ball professional manufacturers for more help.

The first set of ceramic bearings was born at NASA, the first set of ceramic bearings since 1972

Ceramic ball bearings

After the successful development of bearings, countries around the world have been racing to develop and develop a new generation of higher-performance ceramic bearings. After nearly four decades of hard work, the most prominent effect of ceramic bearings is a significant increase in bearing life and limit speed. Provide basic components for the development of high-speed and ultra-high-speed, high-precision machine tools. In addition, it has also achieved good results in applications such as high temperature, corrosion, insulation, vacuum, and chemical industries. Today, world-renowned bearing companies are all developing and producing ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings, and the quality of their products has become an important indicator of their strength. According to incomplete statistics, so far, foreign countries that can produce ceramic bearings are: the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom and other countries. Among them, the production of ceramic ball bearings started early in foreign countries and has a wide range of applications, such as ceramic ball bearings for CNC machine tools, ceramic ball bearings for electric spindles of grinders, and ceramic ball bearings for machine tool ball screws. The high wear resistance, self-lubrication, and ultra-high speed of ceramic ball bearings have been fully utilized, and they have also contributed to high-precision machine tools, high-speed machine tools, and special environmental equipment. As the core component of ceramic ball bearings, ceramic spheres, foreign R & D and competition are also fierce. The ceramic balls produced by the Norton company in the United States using the HIP method are internationally first-class. The world's leading companies in the research of ceramic ball bearings are Sweden's SKF, Germany's FAG, France's Saint-Gobain, Japan's NSK, KOYO, NMB (Mega Asia), Japan's MSRHK and so on.

Bearings are products with a large production volume and a wide range of applications in the mechanical industry. Among them, ball bearings account for the largest proportion. At home and abroad, the research and development of ceramic bearings has focused on ceramic ball bearings. Ceramic ball bearings can be divided into hybrid ceramic ball bearings and full ceramic ball bearings. Among them, the hybrid ceramic ball bearing means that only the rolling element parts of the bearing are made of ceramic material, and the full ceramic bearing means that the inner and outer rings and rolling elements of the bearing are all made of ceramic material. Hybrid ceramic ball bearings can be divided into three types: the first type uses ceramic materials for the ball, while the rest still uses metal materials; the second type uses ceramic materials for the ball and inner ring and the metal material for the outer ring; the third type, The ball and outer ring are made of ceramic, and the inner ring is made of metal. Using engineering ceramics as bearing materials has good mechanical and thermal properties, that is, a series of better than metal materials, such as sufficient strength, stiffness, hardness, fracture toughness, compressive impact resistance, high temperature resistance, oxidation resistance, and low specific gravity. Performance. The ceramic materials suitable for bearings are mainly silicon nitride (si3N4), zirconia (ZrOe), and aluminum oxide. Among these three ceramic materials, silicon nitride has excellent comprehensive performance and has become the preferred material for ceramic bearings. Its characteristic is that the failure form is the same as the bearing steel, and it appears in a precursory spalling manner, while zirconia and alumina appear in the form of fragmentation failure.

Development status of domestic ceramic ball bearings

I. Ceramic bearings started late in China. At present, domestic universities and colleges that research and develop ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings are owned by: Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Shanghai Institute of Materials, Shandong Institute of Ceramics, Guangdong University of Technology, Tianjin University, Luo axis and so on. Domestic ceramic bearing manufacturers are mainly located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. In addition to the samples made by Luo Axis and Shanghai Silicate, no industrialized enterprises have been seen. Compared with foreign countries, the development situation of China's ceramic bearings is not optimistic. There are few domestic enterprises that can produce ceramic bearings on an industrial scale. The root cause is, of course, affected by various factors, such as technical level, talents, capital, etc., especially the unclear market and lack of confidence. At present, domestic research and development work on ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings, in general, there are still several problems, which seriously restrict the development of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings in China.

Problems in the research and development of ceramic ball bearings

First of all, what we have reported are the research and development of high-speed and high-precision ceramic ball bearings, and

Ceramic ball bearings

Usually mostly around silicon nitride balls.

Looking forward to the use of ceramic ball bearings

Ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings have many excellent properties such as: self-lubricating, high temperature resistance,

Ceramic ball bearings

Corrosion resistance, anti-magnetic, electrical insulation, etc., have yet to be developed and used in a wider area, and the potential application area is huge. The first high-quality high-speed ceramic ball bearing: It can serve the domestic machine tool industry very well. The amount of high-speed, high-precision spindles and electric spindle bearings is quite large. It is estimated that the annual demand is more than tens of thousands of sets. However, high-precision machine tool spindle bearings require relatively high machining accuracy and harsh quality. For example, P4 bearings require high-precision ceramic balls of G5 or higher. At present, there are very few manufacturers in China that can produce products with poor product stability. Second: Medium-quality ceramic bearings are used in petroleum exploration, crude oil smelting, especially fine chemicals, chemical fiber, new energy, printing and dyeing, electroplating, sewage treatment, marine development, deep water pumps, acid and alkali pumps, high temperature, vacuum, nuclear magnetic resonance, It can be widely and well used in many fields such as electrical insulation, medicine and health, X-ray tube and food industry. Many only require general accuracy grades; medium and low speeds and loads; bearings are required to be able to withstand a certain concentration of acid, alkali and salt corrosion; resistant to high temperatures of 300400 ° C; non-magnetic, electrical, non-toxic; can be used without oil or use The working medium is self-lubricating, etc .; it can also be used in seawater. Bearings used in these fields account for a large proportion of special bearings, and ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings are fully capable of replacing, and can achieve the barely competent and incompetent work of metal bearings, engineering ceramics has its irreplaceable status. With such a huge market as the premise, we can completely create a new way in product development and manufacturing to expand the wider application field of ceramic bearings. Make new materials, new processes and new technologies better serve production.

Problems in domestic ceramic ball bearings

First of all, what we have reported are the research and development of high-speed and high-precision ceramic ball bearings, and they are usually mainly around silicon nitride balls. The main problems are solved, one is the research of ceramic ball making, and the other is high Research on the processing technology of precision ceramic balls. In the use of high-speed machine tools, CNC machine tools, electric spindles and other high-speed occasions, ceramic ball bearings with long life or low noise requirements have not been able to escape from the manufacture and processing of SI3N4 ball blanks. The research on new materials such as: SiC, ZrO2, ZTA, Sialon, etc. is still a small amount. Production practice proves that the majority of manufacturers use ZrO2. Due to cost concerns, good materials and processes cannot be used on a large scale. Low-noise, dry-friction, antistatic ceramic ball bearings produced by Chinese enterprises have been compared in detail with ceramic ball bearings of the same specifications produced by Japanese enterprises. The difference in decibels is 2 db. Good products can achieve 20 db. And foreign products are the same. But the price is only around 15% of NMB. It can be directly matched with the motor of domestic household appliances. However, this price is still a lot higher than ordinary bearings, and can only be used in high-end and export household electrical appliances.

Secondly, the production of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings is an industrial combination of high-tech ceramics and bearing manufacturing technology.

Ceramic ball bearings

Very high, if you do not solve the problem of industrial integration of ceramics and bearings, to achieve high-quality high-volume, low-cost production, to meet market demand is empty words. Today, domestic enterprises that can produce bearings cannot manufacture ceramic materials, and enterprises that can produce ceramic materials cannot manufacture bearings. There is a serious disconnect between the majors and the disciplines in practical application. Some bearing manufacturers have special expertise in ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings. It is relatively little research on the science and engineering of ceramic materials. It is well known that the surface content of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings. A bearing made of ceramic material is a ceramic bearing, and the situation of adding a ceramic ball is a ceramic ball bearing. Domestic ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings can only be used in environments with corrosion resistance, electrical insulation, magnetic insulation, low speed and light load. There is also a major problem in the manufacture of domestic ceramic materials. Under the premise that the technology and technology have not yet passed the border, the blind pursuit of low prices causes the performance of the materials to fail to achieve the expected results. It makes the development of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings go a new way, and also causes more units to lose confidence in ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings.

In addition, as the research and development of high-tech products, there are two stages of technology-intensive investment and capital-intensive investment. The industrial production of ceramic bearings must not only overcome many technical difficulties, but also require large capital investment. To grasp the market positioning, it is necessary for people of insight in the industry to take the high standard of developing domestic ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings as their mission. Low-price competition is bound to bring about crude manufacturing and further deterioration of the market. The accumulation of original capital and continuous reinvestment must serve the development of ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings to higher quality areas. The development of China's ceramic bearings at this stage is scattered, fragmented, and small-scale localized production lacks overall awareness and macro strategic thinking.

Looking forward to the use of ceramic ball bearings

Ceramic bearings and ceramic ball bearings have many excellent properties such as: self-lubricating, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance

Ceramic ball bearings

, Anti-magnetic, electrical insulation, etc.