Miniature Bearing

MINIATURE BEARING

A wide variety of bearing types and design variations are available to meet the requirements of virtually all precision instrument applications. Bearing types include radial retainer, pivot, thrust, high speed radial, angular contact and full ball complement. Many selections also are available in both inch and metric dimensions.

· Open miniature ball bearings

· Open, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Shielded miniature ball bearings

· Shielded, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Sealed miniature ball bearings

· Sealed, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, open miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, open, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, shielded miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, shielded, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, sealed miniature ball bearings

· Flanged, sealed, with extended inner ring miniature ball bearings

· Miniature Thrust Bearings

· Miniature Plain Bearings

· Miniature Spherical Plain Bearings

· Miniature Bushings

· Miniature Roller Bearings

· Miniature Needle Bearings

· Miniature Linear Bearings

· Miniature Flanged Bearings

· Miniature Rod Ends

Miniature Ball Bearings are small bearings with balls as their rolling elements.  These small bearings have an outside diameter of less than ?” (<9.525 mm) or are small bearings with an outside diameter less than or equal to ½” (≤ 12.7 mm) having a ration of outside diameter to inside diameter equal to or less than two.

Instrument Ball Bearings

The term “Instrument Ball Bearing” is not limited to certain sizes, as with “miniature” ball bearings.  They are precision ball bearings with functional requirements which allow their use in the literal sense of the word.   The tolerances of instrument bearings are always ABEC-5 and higher.  Additionally, they must meet two or more of the following conditions: 

· Low or uniform starting or running torque

· Smooth operation or vibration limitations

· A definite contact angle or preload (or both)

· Meet high cleanliness standards

Design Attributes

· Extended inner rings and flanged outer rings to facilitate mounting.

· Shields and seals for contamination protection.

· Radial play and contact angle variations to suit application loading and deflection requirements

· Various ball retainer styles and materials for optimum bearing performance.

· Factory lubrication from a stock of several hundred lubricants.

· Tolerance levels to exact application requirements.

· Ring and ball selection choices include AISI 440C stainless steel, SAE 52100 chrome steel, beryllium copper and ceramics.

· Performance testing for noise and friction torque specifications available.

Applications

· Medical and industrial handpieces

· Flow meters

· Fuel controls

· Gyros, synchros and servos

· Motors

· Cryogenic coolers

· Pulmonary assist devices