Rolling Bearing Cage Sector Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing roller bearing cages are complex and costly to produce, often resulting in material waste during machining and limited options for cost-effective materials with suitable properties for stress and wear resistance.
Innovation Solution
A roller bearing cage composed of sector elements and web elements made from profiled steel bars or strips, allowing for simple and inexpensive production, snap-in functionality, and differential material usage for stress and wear resistance, with optional coating and embossing for lubrication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional machining methods are used to produce cage pockets from hollow cylindrical blanks, then precise cage pocket geometry can be achieved, but significant material waste is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The cage is divided into multiple sector elements (at least three) that are manufactured separately and then assembled together. Each sector element can be produced by cost-effective processes such as stamping or cutting from flat sheet material, eliminating the need for expensive machining of complete cages while ensuring precise geometry through standardized production methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the production approach from subtractive machining of solid blanks to formative processes like stamping, cutting, or bending of flat sheet material. This parameter change in manufacturing method dramatically reduces material waste while maintaining the required precision of cage pocket geometry through modern forming technologies.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform material is used for all cage elements, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but cost-effectiveness and optimized stress distribution are limited
Solution Approach 1:
Different sector elements or regions of the cage can be made from different materials or have different material properties tailored to their specific functional requirements. For example, elements experiencing higher stress or wear can use more durable materials, while less critical elements use more cost-effective materials, optimizing overall performance and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage can incorporate composite material structures or combinations of different materials in different sector elements to achieve optimized stress distribution and wear resistance where needed, while maintaining cost-effectiveness in other areas. This allows versatile material property optimization across different parts of the same cage assembly.
3Strength
If steel material is used for the cage, then strength and wear resistance are improved, but snap-in functionality for rolling elements becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The snap-in functionality is achieved by carefully controlling geometric parameters such as the clearance between sector elements, the shape of retaining lugs or noses, and the elastic deformation characteristics of the cage structure. By optimizing these parameters, steel cages can provide snap-in retention of rolling elements through elastic deformation during assembly, combining the strength of steel with ease of assembly.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a rolling bearing cage having the following characteristics: the cage comprises an annular circumferential element from which branch off web elements between which rolling bodies of the rolling bearing can be arranged. The circumferential element comprises a plurality of identical sector elements and the initially loose sector and web elements are interconnected to form the cage.