keep an eye out for is bearing manufacturers have been overly polished

When a bearing fails, it means that the motion of the bearing is rendered useless due to the failure. This can happen in a variety of situations. The shaft of the machine has the potential to eventually fail without the correct bearing motion, and as a result, the machine itself has the potential to be damaged or broken.

Bearings are subject to wear and tear for as long as an active process is being carried out, so it should not come as a surprise to learn that this happens minute by minute. This is the case regardless of whether or not your facility has experienced any failures in bearings in the recent past.

Failure of bearings can be caused by a wide variety of different factors, some of which are more common than others. Some of these factors include:

The data are presented in a manner that better illustrates the common factors that lead to failure of bearings, and that chart is presented below.

In order to gain a better understanding of these 13 common reasons why bearings fail and how they relate to your manufacturing process, let's delve deeper into the subject matter.

1. Improper Lubrication

When examining a bearing that has stopped functioning properly, this is one of the potential causes that should be considered right away as a possible explanation. In order to ensure that proper lubrication is provided, China high quality ball bearing factory is essential to have adequate viscosity at the temperature at which the operation is being performed.

Look for bearing raceways that are highly polished or discolored when you are performing troubleshooting. This will help you determine whether or not the working surfaces lack adequate viscosity at their operating temperature.

When applied to a moving part, an excessive amount of grease may actually cause more problems than it solves.

When there is an excessive amount of grease present, the rolling elements will continually try to push the extra grease out of the way, which will cause friction and heat to build up. The rolling elements run the risk of making direct contact with one another if there is insufficient lubrication. if we are to believe what the IBT tells us.

2. Cage Damage

When it comes to cages, there are a lot of different things that could go wrong. Some of the most common types of problems that can occur are vibration, excessive speed, wear, and blockage.

3. Contamination & Corrosion

Bearings are susceptible to damage from a wide variety of contaminants, each of which presents its own unique set of challenges. Dirt, sand, and water are the most common contaminants that can damage bearings; however, chemical substances and corrosives are also capable of doing damage.

These contaminants cause the viscosity to decrease, which in turn causes corrosion to the bearing surfaces, disrupts the oil film, and causes erosion, which results in the creation of a large number of abrasive particles. This cycle continues until the contaminants are removed.

It is absolutely necessary that you keep your hands, work areas, tools, and fixtures clean at all times because there is the possibility that contamination will occur.

4. Electric Arcing

This type of failure, which is also known as Electric Arc Erosion, takes place when an electric current travels through the bearing and is broken at the contact surface between the races and the rolling elements. This failure type is also known as Electric Arc Erosion. This leads to increased temperatures at specific locations throughout the area. source

This can lead to the formation of pits on the raceways and rolling elements of the bearing, which can ultimately result in the bearing becoming damaged.

5. Poor Fitting

It is an absolute requirement to correctly mount the bearings distributor to a shaft that has been precisely measured and sized. In the event that it is not, it carries the possibility of causing problems in two distinct ways:

Because of this improper fit, the amount of internal clearance that the bearing has will be reduced if the shaft is of excessive size or if it expands. The bearing manufacturers will creep on the shaft, causing it to wear out and generate heat if the shaft is too small, and the fit is too loose. In the long run, this will eventually cause problems with runout and vibration.

6. Fatigue

Failure due to fatigue, also known as spalling, takes place when there is a fracture in the running surfaces, which then leads to the removal of minute particles of bearing material that have become detached from one another. This type of failure can also take the form of a catastrophic failure.

Because this type of fatigue is progressive, once it begins in a bearing, it will continue to spread as the bearing is used because it will wear out over time. Once it begins, it will continue to spread in a china high quality ball bearing factory because this form of fatigue is progressive. An increase in vibration is a key indicator that fatigue is starting to set in, so it should be monitored closely as it occurs.

According to AST Bearings, fatigue can occur at the end of the bearing's normal life expectancy; however, it often occurs much earlier than this due to excessive loads. This is because fatigue is caused by the bearing suppliers having to work harder than it was designed to.

7. Brinelling

This kind of failure occurs when loads go beyond the elastic limit of the ring material, which causes the ring to break. This causes the raceways to develop permanent indentation marks, which in turn leads to an increase in vibration.

8. Misalignment

When alignments are off, the result is an increase in both the vibration and the load. A small amount of misalignment is acceptable for some bearings, but not for others. This is not the case for all bearings.

The following are some of the most common causes of misalignment, as outlined in the book Bearing Failure: Causes and Cures: bent shafts, dirt or burrs on the shoulders of the shaft or housing, shaft threads that are not square with the seats of the shaft, and locking nuts with faces that are not square to the axis of the thread.

There are a few best practices that you need to keep in mind in order to lessen the chances of there being a misalignment...

Always make sure to perform regular inspections on the shafts and housings, use locknuts of a precision grade, and shim the housings as needed to ensure optimal performance.

9. Paths and the Structures They Form

The most effective method for acquiring a more accurate picture of the operating conditions under which a bearing was put to use is to examine the wear path pattern of a disassembled  that has already been put into service. This pattern can be found on a bearing that has been used.

If one utilizes failure analysis testing in conjunction with an understanding of the normal and abnormal wear path, then one is in a position to accurately evaluate whether or not the bearing has been operated under the optimal conditions.

10. Selecting Seals and Taking Care of Them Bearings that have adequate seals protect themselves from contamination and ensure that the lubrication is not ruined. Seals should be chosen and taken care of in this order.