NEWS CENTER

Rolling bearing failures

2017-04-24

One of the main faults of rolling bearings is their excessive heating. Overheating can occur as a result of improper assembly, a tight fit of the bearing outer ring in the bearing shield, or a lack of axial clearance in one of the bearings to compensate for thermal expansion of the shaft during machine operation. When this fault occurs, the rotor will rotate easily in a cold bearing and seize in a heated bearing.

To get the axial clearance back to normal, it is necessary to grind a shoulder on the bearing cover or install shims between the cover and the housing. To reduce the tight fit of the ring, the bearing seat is loosened.

Sometimes there is an abnormal noise in the bearings, accompanied by a rise in temperature. This can be the result of poor motor alignment, dirty bearings, excessive wear of individual parts (balls, rollers) and loose fit of the bearing inner ring on the shaft.

If more grease is put in the bearings than it should be, or the grease grade does not correspond to the ambient temperature and the seals are insufficient, grease will be ejected from the bearings when the engine is running.