What is the effect of cleanliness on the performance of bearings?

This article mainly describes the influence of cleanliness on bearing life, vibration noise, lubrication performance and how to do a good job in bearing cleaning.

Apr 23,2024

What is the effect of cleanliness on the performance of bearings?

Due to the relative movement of rolling elements and raceways and the intrusion of pollutants and dust, the surfaces of rolling elements and raceways are worn. When the amount of wear is large, it is the bearing, noise, and vibration that increase, which reduces the running accuracy of the bearing, thus directly affecting the accuracy of some host machines. Therefore, for some silent mechanical bearings, daily maintenance is mainly to prevent the intrusion of pollutants and dust.

 

1. Impact on bearing life

The cleanliness of the bearing has a great influence on the life of the bearing. Some companies have conducted special experiments, and the result is that the difference is several times or even dozens of times. The higher the cleanliness of the bearing, the longer the life. Tests show that lubricating oils with different cleanliness have a great influence on bearing life. Therefore, the cleanliness of the lubricating oil can be improved to prolong the life of the bearing. In addition, if the dirt particles in the lubricating oil can be controlled below 10um, the life of the bearing will also increase several times.

 

2. Impact on vibration and noise

(1) The test results of the bearing test center show that the degree of cleanliness seriously affects the vibration level of the bearing, especially the vibration in the high frequency band is more significant. Bearings with high cleanliness have low vibration velocity values, especially in high frequency bands.

(2) Experiments have been done on the influence of dust particles in bearing grease on noise, and it has been proved that the greater the amount of dust, the greater the noise.

 

3. Effect on lubrication performance

The decline of bearing cleanliness not only affects the formation of lubricating oil film, but also causes the deterioration and accelerated aging of lubricating grease, thus affecting the lubricating performance of lubricating grease.

 

So if you want to reduce bearing failures in practical applications, how to clean the bearings regularly?

Cleaning bearing process:

1. First, remove the old oil in the bearing, then use a brush or cloth dipped in gasoline or kerosene to clean the bearing, at least twice, and at the same time clean the bearing cover and dry it.

2. Do not rotate the bearing during cleaning, so as to prevent debris from being pressed into the bearing raceway.

3. Bearings cleaned with kerosene should be cleaned with gasoline. Because kerosene contains a lot of water, use gasoline to wash away the residual water on the bearing to prevent rust.

4. Cleaned bearings should be wiped dry with a clean cloth instead of cotton yarn to avoid fluff falling into the bearings. At the same time, do not touch the bearings with hands to prevent the bearings from being stained with sweat and rust. The cleaned bearings can be placed On a clean board or paper, allow any remaining gasoline or kerosene to evaporate.

5. Clean and dry the bearing, if there is no obvious shaking and no peeling of the ball surface, add pure lubricating oil according to the regulations, and put it into use again.

Self-lubricating bearings can usually be reinstalled and put into service after cleaning, while non-lubricating bearings need to be re-lubricated if they want to return to normal service.