The High-Load Life

A line of needle roller bearings adds life to high-load industrial applications.

Commercial and PrecisionApplications

Designing high-load equipment such as hydraulic pumps used on farm equipment or refuse trucks often requires bearings with a long life. That's why a new line of heavy-duty needle roller bearings, called Pitchlign, has been developed. These bearings are available as outer ring and roller assemblies, with or without inner rings and seals, or as complete units for high-load applications.

The Pitchlign line includes the SJ Series of caged heavy-duty needle roller bearings and the TJ Series of long-life bearings, which have a patented tandem roller design. This design involves having an additional roller in each pocket of the cage, allowing higher capacity than other more traditional bearings.

"We have developed some technologies that allow us to put a complex profile on the outer ring and maintain a very smooth surface finish simultaneously," says Karl Wickenheisser, senior project manager at RBC Bearings, which manufactures Pitchlign bearings. The smooth surface correlates directly with the long life of the product — rough surfaces mean more metal-to-metal contact, resulting in heat and early product failure.

Pitchlign products also have other industrial uses. For example, they can be used in mud pumps for the oil industry. That's because the bearings have been engineered to withstand rough, dirty, and hard applications. Another suitable application is axial piston pumps, where a swash plate support bearing can be used for high-load bearing capability in a small area.

In some applications, the bearings must have such a high-load capacity that a double-wide bearing is the most appropriate solution. This is essentially the equivalent of two TJ Series units in a single outer race. The double-width bearing reduces the need for additional components and facilitates assembly.

RBC Bearings also manufactures single seal, double seal, and combination bearing seals for retaining lubricants or excluding foreign matter. Inner rings are available for applications where heat-treating of the shaft is not possible. Inverted Pitchlign bearings are available for applications such as transmissions or idler gears.

Pitchlign bearings are suitable for applications in the trucking, oil, material handling, construction, and agricultural industries.

Pitchlign bearings are typically manufactured using 52100 through-hardened steel. The outer races are machined, rather that being formed in a press operation. Machining allows the units to maintain tight control of tolerances and symmetry.

That also helps keep the bearings alive and kicking for a long time.

More information is available by contacting RBC Bearings, 60 Round Hill Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824, calling 800-390-3300, visiting www.rbcbearings.com, writing in 60 on our reader service card, or replying online atwww.pddnet.com.

 

COMMERCIAL AND PRECISIONAPPLICATIONS While Pitchlign bearings are designed to handle high loads, RBC Bearings' Heim Division has put out a line of rod ends to tackle the convenience, reliability, and economic demands of both commercial and precision applications. Precision rod ends are designed to offer greater mounting convenience and an economical lightweight design. They are usually needed for applications requiring tight tolerances and linkage accuracy. Heim and Spherco rod ends Manufactured under the Heim and Spherco brand names, these rod ends are appropriate for situations where bearings must accommodate significant misalignment. The line includes self-lubricating models; male, female, right-, or left-hand threaded shanks; keyed shanks; and special platings and coatings. Double-ended linkages and a wide range of sizes (both inch and metric) as well as various configurations are available. The units can be used in a variety of custom applications such as personal recreational vehicles, door mechanisms, and specialized machinery. More information is available by contacting RBC Bearings, 60 Round Hill Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824, calling 800-390-3300, visiting www.rbcbearings.com, writing in 61 on our reader service card, or replying online at www.pddnet.com.

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