Needle Thrust Bearing for Compact Solutions and High Rigidity
When it comes to offering effective solutions for handling heavy loads, bearings are the most indispensable components in machines for their high suitability and applicability in any industrial applications. Their popularity has made them easily interchangeable, with the designs, sizes, clearance classes and dimensions being standardized. You have the improved bearing design variants today to provide effective solutions to any problems.
Nonetheless, its use largely depends on the design and type of the bearing. A needle thrust bearing is one among the bearing designs, which are known for its intrinsic characteristics and advantages. With one-half of the outer diameter, a needle thrust bearing differs in design from other bearings such as a taper roller bearing design. They differ in the bearing housing, as well as shaft, which are developed to specific accuracy, surface roughness and hardness. The cage assemblies and the needle rolling elements, without the outer and inner rings act as independent bearings.
For an appropriate choice, you can refer the needle bearing catalog, which has a comprehensive list of needle bearing designs. All the designs are known for a smaller mass, with cage assemblies and needle rolling elements smaller in diameter, making it appropriate for applications that ask for small inertial force.
Needle Thrust Bearings and Their Suitability in Applications
A shaft, which is a machine’s rotating component, asks for a bearing arrangement, which is generally a “locating or non-locating bearing”in order to manage and find the machine component axially and radially relative to the unit. With a needle thrust bearing, which is especially crafted to accommodate radial loads, you can handle axial displacement. Other than this, you can also use it as a non-locating bearing component as it can relatively manage axial loads acting in one direction.
Where an application asks for handling acting loads in both directions, you can have a needle thrust bearing designed to have a small change in the design by integrating two needle rollers and raceways, as well as cage assemblies. With this, you can have the bearing accommodate one-directional acting axial and radial loads. For managing axial loads in the other direction, you need to use another needle thrust bearing of the combination mentioned above.
Specific Use of Needle Thrust Bearing in Applications
To handle radial loads, you can have drawn cup needle thrust bearings, which can minimize friction between the rotating machine components. The small cross section in the bearing helps handle heavy loads and suitable for applications that demand minimum space and easy installation.
The cage housing unit of a needle thrust bearing is known for the compactness and smaller bore diameters to the extent of 30 mm to help carry at least 2 to 8 times of heavy loads. You can use them in light-weight machinery and have low cost of production.