Bearing component with a coating

Abstract

Disclosed is a bearing component, in particular a bearing ring, for a rolling bearing, a plain bearing and / or a linear bearing, comprising a bearing component base body (2) and a coating (4) applied to the bearing component base body (2), wherein the coating (4) applied to the bearing component (1) comprises at least one material (8) that can be cured by electromagnetic radiation (10), and a method for coating such a bearing component (1).

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to a bearing component, in particular a bearing ring, with a coating, and a method for applying the coating. Technical background

[0002] Electrically insulated bearings, which are used in electric motors, for example, often have an electrically insulating coating on their metal base bodies, for example made of a ceramic material, a plastic material or a composite material.

[0003] Such insulating layers can be applied to the base body by plasma spraying or injection molding, particularly when using plastic such as PPS. However, due to the porous nature of such coatings, they must be impregnated and cured for several hours. The goal is to obtain a completely dense, waterproof, impregnated, and thus insulating coating. Although plasma spraying is a well-known technique, process control is not easy, and many problems can arise, such as tungsten inclusions or an inhomogeneous porosity distribution in the coating. Furthermore, the desired electrical properties in humid environments, etc., must be adapted through the selection of additives.Furthermore, especially for PPS coatings using the injection molding process, a corresponding injection mold is required, which must be manufactured specifically for each bearing type. Furthermore, for large bearings, the process is either impossible or very difficult to use due to the size of the bearings.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bearing coating which can be applied to the bearing component more easily and quickly. Summary of the invention

[0005] This object is achieved by a bearing component according to patent claim 1 and a method according to patent claim 8.

[0006] The following describes a bearing component, in particular a bearing ring, for a rolling bearing, a plain bearing, and / or a linear bearing, comprising a bearing component base body and a coating applied to the bearing component base body. The bearing component base body preferably consists of a metal, in particular a bearing steel. To accelerate the coating process and make it more cost-effective, it is further proposed to apply a coating to the bearing component, which coating comprises at least one material that can be hardened by electromagnetic radiation, preferably photonically.

[0007] Since the rate of thermal curing processes increases exponentially with temperature—that is, following an Arrhenius law—coatings curable by electromagnetic radiation, preferably photonically, can be cured much faster than conventional coatings that require drying or sintering. This can significantly reduce processing time while simultaneously increasing productivity and reducing energy requirements. For example, the total production time (for coating followed by curing) can be reduced from several hours to less than 25 minutes per bearing. Since no oven is required for thermal curing, the CO2 footprint can also be improved.In addition, hardening by electromagnetic radiation can ensure that the base body is not heated or only slightly heated, so that the physical and chemical properties, in particular the dimensional stability and the microstructure, of the base body are retained.

[0008] Furthermore, the coating made of the electromagnetic radiation-curable material can be applied to bearing components of any size and shape without the need to produce special coating tools or molds.

[0009] According to a further preferred embodiment, the material curable by electromagnetic radiation is electrically conductive or electrically insulating, or a semiconductor material. This allows for the creation of customized electrical and / or mechanical properties. For example, the material properties can be selected such that the bearing component exhibits particularly good damping, a low noise / vibration level, and / or customized electrical conduction and / or functional performance, e.g., insulation or locally limited high conductivity or sensor capability.

[0010] For this purpose, the coating can also be provided with different materials that can be cured by electromagnetic radiation. Alternatively or additionally, the coating can also have multiple layers of the same or different materials that can be cured by electromagnetic radiation. This can enable modification to different material compositions and achieve advantageous mechanical properties. Furthermore, this also allows sensors, for example, to be implemented directly in the layering by selecting the appropriate materials accordingly. For example, current paths can be formed on the bearing component using copper ink, silver, or gold and fixed by curing with electromagnetic radiation.

[0011] According to a further advantageous embodiment, one or more sensors or electrical or electronic devices or functional ceramic elements, such as a piezoelectric crystal or generally a piezoelectric material, can be embedded in the coating. For example, strain gauges, temperature sensors, capacitance measuring elements, crack sensors, voltage measuring elements, and / or other ceramic-metal functional components, semiconductor components, or heat dissipation elements can be embedded in the coating. This is possible in particular because curing by electromagnetic radiation does not cause damage to the sensitive sensors, as could occur, for example, during hours of heating and curing in an oven. Furthermore, preparatory elements, such as those for live monitoring of the bearing, can also be embedded in the coating.

[0012] According to a further preferred embodiment, the material curable by electromagnetic radiation comprises a matrix curable by electromagnetic radiation, in particular a polymer matrix, in which one or more fillers are embedded, wherein the fillers preferably comprise ceramic, metal, polymer, metal oxide and / or non-metal oxide and / or organic substances, such as a resin curable by UV light.

[0013] Alternatively or additionally, the above-mentioned embeddable sensors or electrical components can also be embedded in this matrix.

[0014] According to a further preferred embodiment, the electromagnetic radiation-curable material comprises Al2O3, ZrO2, ZnO, Ti2O, Cu, Ag, Au and / or functional inks, and / or perovskites, such as BaTiO3, Pb(Zr x Ti 1-x )O3 with x < 0.94, LiNbO3, SrTiO3, KNbO3, NaNO2.

[0015] The coating can be formed on the raceways or sliding surfaces of the bearing component, but it is particularly preferred to form the coating on the so-called non-functional bearing surfaces, which are not subject to any rolling or sliding contact, since in these cases it is particularly possible to implement other mechanical and / or electrical and / or sensory properties that are important for the bearing component with the aid of the coating.

[0016] A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for applying a coating to a bearing component, comprising the following steps: - applying an electromagnetic radiation-curable coating material in a thermodynamically stable state to a bearing component base body in order to obtain a coating on the bearing component base body which is in the green state; - Irradiating the bearing component with the applied coating in the green state with electromagnetic radiation; and - Solidification of the coating through the curing process induced by the electromagnetic radiation.

[0017] The coating can be applied as a slurry, liquid solution, aerosol, resin or another suitable mixture of the coating material in any state of aggregation to the bearing component, for example a bearing inner and / or outer ring surface or interface.

[0018] In particular, the coating material is applied using a dosing unit, such as a spray gun, or a spin coating process using a dipping process, 3D printing, or other additive processes, such as screen printing, inkjet printing, lithography, etc. This allows the coating to be applied easily and quickly to bearing components of any size and shape.

[0019] The bearing component with the coating in the green body state can then be placed in a system where it is held in such a way that the coating is accessible. Furthermore, it can be rotated within the system and optionally cooled to eliminate any thermal influences on the bearing body during hardening caused by electromagnetic radiation.

[0020] The coating is then hardened through a curing process, during which the component is irradiated with electromagnetic radiation. The bearing component can be irradiated using an electromagnetic radiation source, preferably a pulsed light source, in particular a Xe flash lamp. The electromagnetic irradiation can be performed sequentially, i.e., the bearing component can be scanned with the light source; however, it is also possible to place the bearing component in an irradiation device. Additionally, the effect of the radiation source can be enhanced by a radiation-guiding and isolating device, such as a photon-guiding and isolating device. A mirror, in particular a cooled mirror, can be used for this purpose.

[0021] Further advantages and advantageous embodiments are set forth in the description, the drawings, and the claims. In particular, the combinations of features set forth in the description and the drawings are purely exemplary, so the features may also be present individually or in other combinations. Short character description

[0022] The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. The exemplary embodiments and the combinations shown in the exemplary embodiments are purely exemplary and are not intended to define the scope of the invention. This scope is defined solely by the appended claims.

[0023] They show: Fig. 1: a schematic representation of a bearing component in various stages of coating; and Fig. 2: Schematic representation of an irradiation device. Detailed description of the invention

[0024] In the following, identical or functionally equivalent elements are identified by the same reference symbols.

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a part of a bearing component 1 with a base body 2 and a coating 4, wherein the coating 4 is applied in the illustrated stage and in the illustrated embodiment using a spray gun 6. In this embodiment, the coating material 8 is in a fluid state during coating with the spray gun.

[0026] The bearing component base body 2 is made of a metal, in particular of bearing steel. The coating 4 or the coating material applied to the bearing component 1 or the bearing component base body 2 comprises at least one material that can be cured by electromagnetic radiation, in particular a photonically curable material.

[0027] The electromagnetic radiation-curable material can, for example, comprise an electromagnetic radiation-curable matrix, in particular a polymer matrix, into which one or more fillers are embedded. The fillers preferably comprise ceramic, metal, polymer, metal oxide, and / or non-metal oxide. In particular, the electromagnetic radiation-curable material can comprise Al2O3, ZrO2, ZnO, Ti2O, Cu, Ag, Au, and / or functional inks, and / or perovskites.

[0028] As continues Fig. As can be seen from Figure 1b, the coating material, which is curable by electromagnetic radiation, is then irradiated with electromechanical radiation 10 to cure the coating 4. The electromechanical radiation 10 can be provided, for example, by a radiation source 12, in particular a pulsed radiation source 12. In particular, a Xe flash lamp is used.

[0029] The coating 4 is hardened by the irradiation through the curing process induced by electromagnetic radiation. The irradiation can be carried out sequentially, i.e. the bearing component 2 can be scanned with the radiation source 12, but it is also possible to scan the bearing component 2, as shown in Fig. 2, into an irradiation device 13. In this case, several radiation sources 12 can be mounted on a carrier 14. Furthermore, the effect of the radiation sources 12 can be enhanced by using a radiation-guiding and insulating device. For this purpose, the carrier 14 can, for example, be designed as a mirror 16, in particular a cooled mirror 16, which supports several radiation sources 12.

[0030] Because the rate of thermal curing processes increases exponentially with temperature—that is, following an Arrhenius law—the photonically curable coating 4 can be cured significantly faster than conventional coatings that require drying or sintering. This allows for a significant reduction in processing time while simultaneously increasing productivity and reducing energy requirements. For example, the total production time (for coating followed by curing) can be reduced from several hours to less than 25 minutes per bearing. Furthermore, since no oven is required for thermal curing, the CO2 footprint can be improved.Furthermore, during hardening by electromagnetic radiation, it can be ensured that the base body 2 is not heated or is heated only slightly, so that the chemical and physical properties, in particular the dimensional stability and the microstructure of the base body 2 are retained.

[0031] The material hardenable by electromagnetic radiation can be electrically conductive, electrically insulating, or a semiconductor material. This allows for the creation of tailored electrical and / or mechanical properties. For example, the material properties can be selected such that the bearing component exhibits particularly good damping, a low noise / vibration level, and / or tailored electrical conduction and / or functional performance, e.g., insulation or locally high conductivity or sensor capability.

[0032] In addition, the coating 4 can also comprise several different materials curable by electromagnetic radiation, or sensors and / or electronic components (not shown) can be embedded in the coating. For example, strain gauges, temperature sensors, capacitance measuring elements, crack sensors, stress measuring elements, and / or other ceramic-metal functional components, semiconductor components, or heat dissipation elements can be embedded in the coating.

[0033] Overall, the coating made of a material curable by electromagnetic radiation allows for the production of a bearing component that can be manufactured significantly faster than with conventional coatings. Furthermore, the coating can be used to implement customized electrical and / or mechanical properties. List of reference symbols 1 bearing component 2 bearing component base bodies 4 Coating 6 spray gun 8 Coating material 10 electromagnetic radiation 12 Radiation source 13 Irradiation device 14 carriers 16 mirrors

Claims

[1] Bearing component (1), in particular bearing ring, for a rolling bearing, a plain bearing and / or a linear bearing, with a bearing component base body (2) and a coating (4) applied to the bearing component base body (2), characterized by that the coating (4) applied to the bearing component (1) comprises at least one material (8) which can be cured with electromagnetic radiation (10). [2] Bearing component (1) according to claim 1, wherein the material (8) hardenable by electromagnetic radiation (10) is electrically conductive or electrically insulating or a semiconductor material. [3] Bearing component (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating (4) comprises different materials (8) curable by electromagnetic radiation (10), and / or comprises several layers of the same or different materials (8) curable by electromagnetic radiation (10). [4] Bearing component (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the material (8) which can be hardened by electromagnetic radiation (10) comprises a matrix which can be hardened by electromagnetic radiation (10), in particular a polymer matrix, into which one or more fillers are embedded, wherein the fillers preferably comprise ceramic, metal, polymer, metal oxide and / or non-metal oxide, and / or organic substances. [5] Bearing component (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein one or more sensors and / or electrical and / or electronic devices and / or functional ceramic elements are embedded in the coating (4). [6] Bearing component (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the material (8) hardenable by electromagnetic radiation (10) is selected from the group of Al2O3, ZrO2, ZnO, Ti2O, Cu, Ag, Au, functional inks, perovskites. [7] Bearing component (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating (4) is applied to a surface of the bearing component (1) which is not subject to rolling or sliding contact. [8] Method for applying a coating (4) to a bearing component (1), in particular a bearing ring, for a rolling bearing, a plain bearing and / or a linear bearing, comprising the following steps: - applying a coating material (8) curable by electromagnetic radiation (10) in a thermodynamically stable state to a bearing component base body (2) in order to obtain a coating (4) on the bearing component base body (2) which is in the green state; - Irradiating the bearing component with electromagnetic radiation; and - Solidifying the coating (4) by the curing process induced by the electromagnetic radiation (10). [9] Method according to claim 8, wherein the application of the coating material (8) is carried out by means of a dosing device, spray gun, dipping process or additive process. [10] Method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the irradiation of the bearing component by means of an electromagnetic radiation source (12), in particular a pulsed radiation source, wherein preferably the radiation source (12) is amplified by a radiation guiding and insulating device (16).

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