A BARDEN
Number 18
BARDEN/FAG
CRONIDUR® 30
HYBRID SPINDLE
BEARINGS
Spindle bearings are typically machined
from two commonly available types of
bearing steels: 440C stainless and
52100. Now, a new ring material option,
Cronidur 30® — developed in cooper-
ation with FAG — offers significantly
improved spindle bearing performance.
Tests of Cronidur® 30 bearings under
EHD lubrication and a Hertzian
Contact Pressure of 392,000 psi
demonstrated an increase in life of at
least four times that of conventional
bearings (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. The useful life of Cronidur® 30 bear-
ings can be four or more times that of con-
ventional bearings.
These superior operating characteristics
offer machine tool users the potential
to extend maintenance intervals and
reduce downtime, thus achieving
significant savings.
Cronidur® 30 was developed for use in
aircraft and aerospace applications,
where component durability, reliability
and long life are necessary. Current
Cronidur® 30 bearing applications include
the main engine pumps in the NASA
space shuttle, and flap adjustment
ball screws on commercial airliners.
Material Composition
Cronidur® 30 is a martensitic through-
hardened steel that can also be
induction case hardened. The primary
difference between 52100 and
Cronidur® 30, for example, is that in
Cronidur® 30 some of the carbon
content has been replaced with
nitrogen. A comparison of the chemical
compositions of Cronidur® 30, 52100
and 440C are presented in Figure 2.
Material C N Si Cr
52100 1.00 — 0.25 1.45
Cronidur ® 30 0.31 0.38 0.55 15.2
440C 1.08 — 0.40 17.0
Figure 2. Chemical composition of bearing
steels as a % of mass.
The large carbides and carbide
networks (0.003 to 0.004 inches),
well known in 440C and 52100 do not
exist in Cronidur® 30. Instead there
is a homogeneous structure of finely
dispersed carbonitrides (< 0.0004
inches). (See Figure 3.) The large
carbides in high carbon alloy steels
normally concentrate at the grain
boundaries. They cause stress con-
centrations which are sites of potential
failure under mechanical loading. The
high chromium content of Cronidur® 30
gives it superior corrosion resistance.
A comparison of 52100 and Cronidur® 30
properties (see Figure 4) shows identi-
cal hardness characteristics, but with
Cronidur® 30 exhibiting improved bend-
ing strength, fracture toughness and a
higher allowable operating temperature.
Bearing Performance
One of the remarkable characteristics
of Cronidur® 30 is its increased fatigue
endurance limit. It allows a maximum
THE BARDEN CORPORATION
P.O. Box 2449
200 Park Avenue, Danbury, CT 06813-2449
(203) 744-2211
440 Cronidur® 30
Carbides Carbonitrides
Figure 3. A comparison of 440C carbides
and Cronidur® 30 carbonitrides shows that
Cronidur® 30 has a much more homoge-
neous grain structure.
contact pressure of 392,000 psi for
infinite EHD fatigue life. In contrast,
52100 hybrid bearings are assumed
to have infinite fatigue life under EHD
conditions at contact pressures of
280,000 psi or less. This means
that Cronidur® 30 hybrid spindle
bearings can withstand ball loads
up to 40% higher.
Another advantage of Cronidur® 30
hybrid bearings is their behavior
under marginal lubrication conditions.
52100 Cronidur® 30
Hardness 58 HRC 58 HRC
Useful Operating
Temperature 250° F 390° F
Bending Strength 120,000 psi 160,000 psi
Fracture Elongation:
• Length 1 3
• Transversal 0.3 2
Figure 4. Comparison of material properties
of 52100 and Cronidur® 30.
(Note: Marginal lubrication is boundary
lubrication and mixed friction conditions
which occur any time the bearing is
started and stopped.) Cronidur® 30
hybrid spindle bearings behave better
than standard hybrid bearings under
marginal lubrication conditions.
Cronidur® 30 hybrid bearings used in
machining center spindles, where
 Inventory Carrying Cost

System Cost
Downtime/Lost Production

Maintenance/Repair Costs

Original Bearing Cost

+ Bearing Replacement Cost Original Bearing Cost

Standard Hybrid Cronidur® 30 Hybrid

Ceramic Bearings Ceramic Bearings

Figure 6. Speedability of Cronidur® 30 hybrid spindle bearings. Figure 7. Factors to consider when calculating equivalent life.

they must endure repeated starts and
stops, have been shown to exhibit
much longer life.
The photo in Figure 5 shows the
raceway surface of a grease lubricated
Cronidur® 30 hybrid spindle bearing
after running at a temperature of
350˚F for 100 hours at a speed of
1.7 million ndm (mm × rpm) with grease
lubrication. Under these marginal
lubrication conditions, grease viscosity
was about 4 cSt. Although the raceway
had to endure enormous tangential
surface stresses, there was no evidence
of spalling, (i.e. no ring material had
been dislodged). Instead there was
plastic deformation of the surface in
the tangential direction. There were no
material particles to form the basis of
abrasive wear. This behavior is totally
different to that of standard bearings,
where spalling, adhesive and abrasive
wear would be observed.
In addition to excellent performance
under marginal lubrication conditions,
Cronidur® 30 hybrid spindle bearings
also show improved speedability with
an increase in running speeds of 30%
possible (see Figure 6) as compared
to standard hybrid bearings.
replacement — which include not
just inventory, but machine down time,
lost productivity and labor — the
cost savings potential of Cronidur® 30
bearings become significant.
The performance properties of
Cronidur® 30 hybrids also allows users
to consider changing from air-oil to
grease lubrication, increasing the
potential cost savings even more.
Conclusion
When longer life, higher running
speeds and lower operating costs are
desired, Barden/FAG Cronidur® 30
hybrid bearings have been proven to
be an effective option.

Increased Performance = Savings

Figure 5. This Cronidur® 30 hybrid spindle
bearing raceway, after performing under
extreme test conditions, showed no evidence
of spalling.
Cronidur® 30 hybrid bearings cost
more than conventional steel hybrid
bearings. However, studies of the
material and how it performs in working
spindles shows the higher cost to be
justified and recoverable many times
over due to much longer life and lower
maintenance costs (see Figure 7).
Cronidur® 30 hybrids can be expected
to last at least twice as long as 52100
hybrid bearings. When calculating the
indirect costs of frequent bearing
References:
1) Boehmer, H.J.; Hirsch,Th.; Streit, E.: Rolling
Contact Fatigue Behavior of Heat Resistant
Bearing Steels At High Operational
Temperatures, 5th International ASTM
Symposium on Bearing Steels, Nov. 1996,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
2) Johnson, K.L.: Contact Mechanics,
Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Rev. 4 / February 21, 2000 — MMG 5K 2/00