What is a roller bearing used for?

Roller bearings, as a major category of rolling bearings, are very common in various types of mechanical equipment. From the appearance, it consists of inner ring, outer ring, roller and cage. The inner ring is tightly sleeved on the shaft and rotates with the shaft; the outer ring is fixed to the bearing seat and remains relatively still; the rollers are placed on the raceway between the inner and outer rings, and the shapes are cylindrical, conical, spherical and other styles. They are like smart "small rollers" that carry the load when the equipment is running; the role of the cage is crucial, which separates the rollers evenly to ensure that they roll smoothly on their respective "tracks" to avoid collision and friction with each other, thereby ensuring the stable and efficient operation of the bearings. Whether it is the roaring large machine tools in the factory, the cars shuttling like a stream, or the household appliances in daily life, as long as there is mechanical movement, you will most likely find roller bearings. It has become an indispensable basic component of modern industry, silently driving the operation of the mechanical world, so what kind of key role does it play in various fields?

1. "Load-bearing" in industrial machinery

(I) Heavy manufacturing field

In the field of mining machinery, roller bearings can be seen everywhere. Take large excavators as an example. They need to frequently dig, lift and transport ore during work, and the work intensity is extremely high. Roller bearings are installed in key parts such as the slewing bearing, walking mechanism and boom connection of the excavator. With excellent load-bearing capacity, they stably support the huge weight of the fuselage and the strong impact force generated during excavation operations, ensuring that the excavator can operate flexibly and efficiently. Large excavators from well-known brands such as Caterpillar and Komatsu are equipped with roller bearings that have been specially designed and strengthened to cope with harsh working conditions. In the metallurgical industry, rolling mills are one of the core equipment. From rolling hot billets to forming steel, the entire process requires huge rolling force. Roller bearings are installed at the neck of the rolls, bearing the radial pressure from the rolls, ensuring the stable rotation of the rolls and achieving high-precision steel rolling. The rolling production lines of large domestic steel enterprises such as Anshan Iron and Steel and Baosteel rely on high-precision and high-load roller bearings to continuously produce high-quality steel, laying a solid foundation for industrial development.

(II) Core of transportation equipment

As the most common means of transportation, roller bearings play an indispensable role in automobiles. Wheel hub bearings are mostly used in combination with double-row tapered roller bearings or angular contact ball bearings. They support the weight of the vehicle body and ensure that the wheels can rotate smoothly and stably, whether it is low-speed driving on urban roads or speeding on highways; the crankshaft, connecting rod and other parts in the automobile engine rely on cylindrical roller bearings to withstand the high-frequency impact load brought by the reciprocating motion of the piston, ensuring the reliable operation of the engine and providing a steady stream of power for the vehicle. In railway transportation, the axle box bearings of train wheels are mostly tapered roller bearings, which bear the huge weight of the train and the heavy load when fully loaded with goods or passengers, allowing the train to run at high speed and smoothly on the rails. Tens of thousands of passenger trains and freight trains shuttle across China every day, with the solid support of roller bearings behind them. The landing gear system of an aircraft is of paramount importance. The roller bearings here need to withstand great impact force at the moment of takeoff and landing to ensure the reliable retraction and extension of the landing gear. The bearings inside the aircraft engine are also critical. The roller bearings operate in extreme environments of high temperature and high speed, providing precise support for the engine rotor, ensuring flight safety, helping the aircraft soar into the blue sky, and connecting every corner of the world.

2. "Precision Guard" in Precision Instruments

(I) Guarantee of Machine Tool Processing Accuracy

In the field of modern precision manufacturing, CNC machine tools have extremely high requirements for processing accuracy, and roller bearings are core components. Take the processing of aircraft engine blades as an example. The curved surface is complex and the precision requirement reaches the micron level. The high-precision roller bearings installed on the main spindle of the machine tool, with their extremely small friction coefficient, ensure the stable operation of the main spindle at high speed rotation, and the tool can accurately cut along the preset trajectory. The error of the processed blade profile can be controlled within a very small range, meeting the stringent performance requirements of the aircraft engine. In the chip processing equipment of electronic manufacturing, the positioning accuracy of the workbench of precision machinery such as lithography machines and etching machines is directly related to the chip process accuracy. As the support and guide element of the workbench, roller bearings ensure the precise movement of the workbench at a microscopic scale with their high-precision operating characteristics, helping chip manufacturing move towards a higher process and promoting the continuous miniaturization and high performance of electronic products.

(II) Stable operation of instruments and meters

In the field of medical equipment, high-end instruments such as CT scanners and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have extremely high requirements for imaging accuracy. The rotating frame inside the CT scanner relies on high-precision roller bearings to achieve smooth and high-speed rotation, ensuring that the X-ray source can accurately scan the human body from multiple angles and obtain clear and accurate tomographic images, providing a reliable basis for doctors to diagnose the disease; in MRI equipment, roller bearings support the precise rotation and positioning of key components such as superconducting magnets, ensuring the uniformity of the magnetic field, thereby improving the imaging quality and assisting doctors in discovering tiny lesions. In scientific research laboratories, electron microscopes are used to observe microscopic material structures. Precision movements such as lens adjustment and sample stage movement cannot be separated from the stable support of roller bearings, ensuring that researchers can conduct precise observation and analysis at the nanoscale and explore the mysteries of the microscopic world; the optical element rotation mechanism in the spectrometer uses roller bearings to achieve high-precision angle adjustment, ensuring the accuracy of spectral measurement and helping to produce scientific research results.

III. "Silent Partner" in Daily Appliances

(I) Long-lasting Power Source for Home Appliances

In home appliances, roller bearings also play a key role. During the washing and dehydration process of the washing machine, the motor rotates at high speed. The cylindrical roller bearing is installed on the main shaft of the motor. With good radial load-bearing capacity, it stably supports the shaft to ensure the smooth operation of the washing machine, and its low noise characteristics make the washing process quiet and undisturbed; the deep groove ball bearings or oil-containing bearings used in the outdoor fan motor of the air conditioner and the cross-flow fan motor of the indoor unit ensure the smooth rotation of the fan and continuously deliver cold and warm air to the room. Even in high summer temperatures or severe winter cold, it can operate reliably and create a comfortable temperature for the home environment. Products of well-known home appliance brands such as Haier and Midea have high-quality roller bearings inside, which are the basis of their quality assurance, allowing home appliances to withstand the test of long-term use and provide convenience for users' lives.

(II) Smooth operation of office equipment

In the field of office appliances, roller bearings are the heroes behind the scenes to ensure work efficiency. Inside the printer, the micro roller bearings in the paper feed roller ensure that the paper is smoothly and accurately fed one by one to avoid paper jams; the bearings of rotating parts such as toner cartridges and fixing rollers help the printing process go smoothly, allowing documents to be presented quickly and clearly. The working principle of the copier is similar. From scanning, imaging to copying output, the roller bearings in each link maintain the precise linkage of the mechanical structure to ensure the quality and efficiency of copying. In the busy office scene, the roller bearings in these office appliances silently stick to it, helping the office process to advance efficiently, and become an indispensable helper for modern office.

IV. "Innovation Assistant" in the Emerging Science and Technology Field

(I) Support for the New Energy Industry

In the current booming new energy industry, roller bearings are also indispensable. As an important conversion device for clean energy, wind turbines operate in extremely harsh environments. They often stand in remote wilderness or on the vast sea, and are subjected to strong wind impacts, temperature changes, and humid salt spray. The main shaft bearings mostly use large cylindrical roller bearings or tapered roller bearings, which support the huge wind wheel with their strong load-bearing capacity, ensuring that it rotates stably in strong winds and heavy rains, and efficiently converts wind energy into electrical energy; the roller bearings in the speed increase box can reliably transmit torque under high-speed operating conditions to ensure power generation efficiency. The high-performance operation of wind turbines of wind power companies represented by Goldwind Science & Technology and Envision Energy is strongly supported by high-quality roller bearings, which has driven the continuous increase in my country's wind power installed capacity. In the field of electric vehicles, with the rise of the new energy vehicle industry, roller bearings have become key components. The high-speed rotation of the drive motor requires the bearing to have low friction and high speed characteristics. The cylindrical roller bearing, with its advantages, adapts to the motor working conditions, reduces energy loss, and increases the driving range. While bearing the weight of the vehicle body, the wheel hub bearing must adapt to the complex forces caused by the frequent start-stop and steering of the vehicle. The new generation of wheel hub bearing units integrate multiple functions to ensure the flexible rotation of the wheels, provide guarantees for the energy-saving and comfortable driving of electric vehicles, and help my country's new energy vehicle industry "overtake on the curve" and move towards a new era of green travel.

(II) Flexible drive of intelligent equipment

The rapid development of intelligent equipment has opened up a new stage for roller bearings. As a typical representative of intelligent manufacturing, the flexibility and precision of the joints of industrial robots are crucial. Due to its unique structure, the rollers of the crossed roller bearing are arranged vertically at 90°, which can not only withstand large radial and axial loads, but also ensure high-precision rotation during multi-degree-of-freedom movement, allowing the robot arm to quickly and accurately complete complex tasks such as grasping and assembly. It is widely used in production lines such as automobile manufacturing and electronic processing to improve production efficiency and product quality. In the field of drones, from consumer-grade aerial photography drones to industrial-grade inspection and mapping drones, their flight performance and stability are related to the success or failure of the mission. The micro roller bearings in the flight control system, gimbal, motor and other components of drones, with their lightweight structure and reliable performance, ensure the flexible operation of various components, so that drones can hover accurately in the air and turn agilely, expand the boundaries of human exploration of the sky, and play a unique advantage in scenes such as aerial photography of beautiful scenery, monitoring the environment, and emergency rescue, becoming the "sky elves" of the intelligent era.

Conclusion

As a key basic component in the field of machinery, roller bearings play an irreplaceable and key role in many fields such as industrial manufacturing, transportation, precision instruments, daily electrical appliances, and emerging technologies. It supports the efficient operation of industrial heavy equipment with excellent carrying capacity, ensures the precise operation of precision equipment with high precision, creates comfort and convenience for home office with low noise and high reliability, and becomes a powerful booster for innovation and development in the frontier fields of new energy and intelligent equipment. From micro chip manufacturing to giant wind power generation, from land-speeding cars to high-altitude soaring aircraft, roller bearings are everywhere and have been deeply integrated into the blood of modern life and industrial development. As technology continues to advance and materials and processes continue to innovate, I believe that roller bearings will continue to evolve, empowering more fields with better performance, continuing the mechanical legend, and helping mankind move towards higher technological peaks.