PRELOADING OF BEARINGS

Bearings apart from being mounted on the shafts and housings have to be preloaded properly for their proper functioning. Preloading is the methodology by which we remove the internal clearance in the bearing by applying a permanent thrust load to it. In other terms we can say that we push the bearing to such an extent that it has to move only in the groove (raceway) and cannot move axially in either direction. We will look on when and how to preload bearings in this article. Now let us look on why the need for preloading of bearing arises. It is mainly for the following reasons In order to eliminate the radial and axial play in the bearing which would be inherently present even after a bearing is mounted radially on a shaft. By preloading, we tend to eliminate all the unnecessary clearances, which induces a rigidity to the bearings and thus to the system the bearing supports. By reducing the clearances, we also tend to control the rotational accuracy of the bearing. Thus it helps to reduce the non-repetitive run out that could occur because of the clearances. By construction and definition, the rolling elements must always roll around in order to carry and distribute the load evenly. When a clearance is present, there is every chance for the rolling element to stop rotating and just skid on the raceway. Preloading the bearings thus helps in preventing the skidding of the balls on the raceway of the bearing. There are also some negative effects when the bearings are preloaded beyond their limit. The effects are Excessive preloading of the bearings can cause increased heat generation in the bearings, which tends to reduce the speed capability and fatigue bearing life. Excessive preloading also causes the bearing to get loaded extremely, causing changes in the power requirement required to drive the system. A very high amount of torque is necessarily required to overcome this tightness in the bearing and thus increasing the energy or power demand for driving the system. Various methodologies for the preloading of the bearings can be found. These methods of preloading are as important as the design and selection of the bearings.

Based on the exposure in the previous article, we know the importance of preloading. There are many methodologies available for the preloading of the bearings in which Spring Preloading of bearings is one of them. Spring preloading is one of the simplest procedures for preloading a bearing and always has a first preference. Though the current design methodologies adapt to various other modes of preloading, spring preloading always has significance. The main advantages of spring preloading are as follows It tends to provide a constant preload from the spring and is very less sensitive to differential expansion and expansion of the bearings due to thermal variations They tend to act as an automatic mechanism, which account for the wear in the bearings. As the bearing wears out, the spring is always ready to expand to account for the wear and preload the bearing again. It has the capability to accommodate minor misalignments occurring during the preloading and moreover supports the bearing to the full. Just like the advantages they also tend to have their own disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages of this method are As time passes, the springs tend to loose their stiffness and hence may not be able to provide the preload to the maximum possible. The various types of springs that are used for preloading of bearings are as follows Coil Springs Belleville Springs Wave springs and Finger Springs Click here to see the springs used for preloading of bearings. The basic principle of the arrangement is such that the spring is compressed during assembly by the outer race of the bearing. The main reason why the outer race is preloaded is that the outer race is normally the non-rotating member. If the outer race is not directly made to compress the spring, other methodologies are followed to compress the bearing. Care is also ensured that the spring does not buckle due to the compression and ample supports are provided for the spring. Click here to see the arrangement of a spring preloading in an assembly.