Selection principle of rolling bearing material

In the design and manufacture of rolling bearings, the bearing materials are generally selected according to the following principles.

1. Choose according to the working conditions of the bearing

1) Working temperature

The bearings that work at room temperature use chromium bearing steel. The working temperature is higher than 150℃ and lower than 250℃, chromium bearing steel is also used, but it needs special heat treatment (200℃ or 300℃ tempering is required).

2) The size of the impact load

Bearings that can withstand strong impact loads generally do not use chromium bearing steel. Most of them use high-quality carburized structural steel, impact-resistant tool steel or quenched and tempered structural steel.

3) Contact with medium

Bearings used in corrosive media must be made of corrosion-resistant steel or alloy steel with good corrosion resistance.

2. Choose according to the structure type of the bearing

When the structure of bearing parts is more complicated, such as the outer ring with mounting ribs and high impact load, it is advisable to use carburized steel with good processing performance; the outer ring of stamped needle roller bearings can be made of 08 and 10 low carbon steel ( It has good plasticity and is suitable for cold stamping processing); the joint bearing used on the swing mechanism or the operating mechanism can be made of GCr15, 9Cr18, 9Cr8Mo and alloy structural steels with good cold plastic deformation properties, and cold rolled and extruded.

3. Choose according to requirements of the bearing fatigue life and reliability 

The fatigue life and reliability of bearings depend to a certain extent on the purity and uniformity of the steel. For general use occasions, common bearing steel smelted in acid open-hearth furnace or alkaline electric furnace is often used. With the continuous improvement of smelting methods, new smelting methods such as current remelting, vacuum smelting, and electron beam furnace smelting have emerged. Bearings made of bearing steel made by the above methods have a corresponding increase in life and are suitable for fatigue Bearings with special requirements for life and reliability, such as axle box bearings for railway vehicles, main shaft bearings for aviation engines, and bearings for navigation systems.

In addition, when selecting steel grades, the processing performance, the origin of goods and domestic and foreign supply resources should also be considered comprehensively.