Sanburg bearings providing excellent ball-to-race conformity and structural integrity, along with the advantages of metal-to-metal contact between bearing components. Standard race materials are low carbon, heat treated alloy or stainless steel. Balls are precision ground alloy or stainless steel. Metal on metal race units can be re-lubricated through an annular groove in the outer race with two interconnecting holes positioned at 180 degrees, while a self-lubricating PTFE to metal interface may also be optionally specified in many series. Inch or imperial sizes range from 3/16 inch through 6 inch bore, metrics from 3 through 160 mm. In addition to catalog offerings, non-standard materials substitutions and dimensional modifications are possible, to meet specific customer application requirements.

 

A spherical bearing is a bearing that permits angular rotation about a central point in two orthogonal directions (usually within a specified angular limit based on the bearing geometry). Typically these bearings support a rotating shaft in the [bore] of the inner ring that must move not only rotationally, but also at an angle.

 

Construction of spherical bearings can be hydrostatic or strictly mechanical. A spherical bearings by itself can consist of an outer ring and an inner ring and a locking feature that makes the inner ring captive within the outer ring in the axial direction only. The outer surface of the inner ring and the inner surface of the outer ring are collectively considered the raceway and they slide against each other, either with a lubricant or a maintenance-free polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based liner. Some spherical bearings incorporate a rolling element such as a race of ball-bearings, allowing lower friction.

 

The Swede Sven Wingquist (1876–1953) invented the spherical bearing in 1907. He founded a global company, AB Svenska Kullagerfabriken, still the world’s leading producer of industrial bearings.

 

Spherical bearings are used in countless applications, wherever rotational motion must be allowed to change the alignment of its rotation axis. A prime example is a tie rod on a vehicle suspension. The mechanics of the suspension allow the axle to move up and down, but the linkages are designed to control that motion in one direction only and they must allow motion in the other directions. Spherical bearings have been used in car suspensions, driveshafts, heavy machinery, sewing machines, and many other applications.

 

Spherical bearings are designed to manage high radial loads even when misalignment, poor lubrication, contamination, extreme speeds or critical application stresses are present.

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