Ball Bearings Make the Industry Roll Forward
Friction, as you may already know, is a necessary evil. Many techniques and objects have been devised to reduce friction. One such item is the ball bearing. The idea of the ball bearing appeared during the Roman times. However, the credit for the practical design goes to Leonardo da Vinci, who incorporated bearings in the design of his helicopter. An axle assembly, making use of ball bearings and designed by Philip Vaughan, a wagon builder, was patented in 1971. Jules Suriray was awarded the first patent for ball bearings. He repaired bicycles and employed bearings on the bicycle that won the first worldwide road race. Since the Germans made extensive use of ball bearings in their war machinery, their factory producing ball bearings was repeatedly attacked during World War II. Ball bearings have a very simple design. One such item essentially consists of two tracks in a circular shape. While one track remains fixed, the other track keeps rotating. Within the track there are tiny balls, the rotation of which reduces the friction between two revolving objects. The nomenclature of these components is the outer race, the inner race, cage and the rolling balls. Here is a brief description of these components: The Inner Race: The part that gets mounted on the revolving shaft is called the inner race. It tends to rotating the shaft. The Outer Race: This is the stationary component that gets mounted on the revolving shaft. This part is also responsible for conveying the load from the bearing onto the shaft. The Balls: The balls carry the job of distributing the load to the raceways. They are inclined to rotate in the inner race but their speed is not the same as that of the inner race. This can be compared to the rotational relationship between the Moon and the Earth. The Cage: This forms an important part of the bearing, acting as a fence for the balls and preventing them from colliding against each other. The process of manufacturing these products is rather complex. A tremendous pressure is applied in order to compress metallic wires kept in two round plates, to get unfinished metallic balls. The balls are then treated in a different machine to remove their flashing. The same machine then grinds the balls to the desired size. Finally, the balls are polished and given a shine. With the ongoing technological developments, the design of ball bearings has undergone changes. The ceramic type is getting increasingly popular these days. This type contains ceramic balls on a steel track. Silicon nitride in a solid form is used for making ceramic balls. Ceramic balls last longer, compared to balls made from steel, and they also work faster. Another advantage is the fact that they are lighter in weight, yet stronger. Their operation is very smooth. Comparatively, they remain cooler, produce low vibrations and noise when put to use. Machines operating at high speeds and mills make good use of the ceramic version. They are also used in making precision medical equipments. These products find very wide applications in our daily lives. In fact, everything that moves requires ball bearings. Their applications vary from simple roller skates, to the hard drives of computers. Industries need to use ball bearings for the efficient and smooth running of their machines. As technology keeps developing, more and more uses for them keep appearing.
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