Bearings are the structural units of mechanisms and machines. Their task is to support or direct axes, as well as various shafts. If the shaft journal in the bearing is sliding along the bearing surface itself, this is a sliding bearing. But in the presence of rollers or balls between the neck of the shaft and directly the supporting surface, they are called rolling bearings. The main task of bearings of all kinds is to reduce friction between machine parts that move with stationary structural elements, because it is precisely because of these forces that heat, wear, and frequent energy losses occur during operation.
Slide bearing - what is it?
In fact, it is a massive metal support having a cylindrical hole. It is in it that a sleeve is installed, and sometimes an insert, which is based on antifriction material. A trunnion, or, more simply, a shaft journal having a small clearance, should be included in the bore of the sleeve of the bearing itself. In order to reduce friction and wear, bearings must be lubricated.
The sliding bearing has a number of performance characteristics, which are determined based on its dimensions, as well as several additional characteristics. 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 fluid with a sufficient degree of viscosity. This can be water, various oils, kerosene, as well as gasoline, emulsions based on water and oil, metals having a liquid structure. In practice, lubricant materials that are in a solid and plastic state are also used, but they cannot be compared with liquid materials in terms of their lubricating properties.
What is a rolling bearing
The basis of his work is considered to be friction by rolling, while in the previous form, sliding friction was considered the main idea. The main role in bearings of this type is played by rolling bodies, which take on the main load. Thanks to this simple idea, it is possible to significantly reduce the energy loss during friction, as well as to increase the wear-resistant qualities of structural elements.
Today, rolling and sliding bearings are very widely used. Their simple design and durability of operation made the parts very popular and indispensable in many applications.
The spherical plain bearing is a self-leveling component that, when misaligned, allows movement. As for its inner ring, it has a convex shape of the outer contour. The outer ring is concave in its structure, respectively. Such a bearing is designed for the impact on it of static forces that arise during oscillatory movements. It is indispensable for turns repeated at a periodic frequency and, of course, during a low speed of rotation of the bearing.