I need to repair a Thrust Bearing 1

[DrDarrell]

I have a thrust bearing sitting on my bench. To order a new one would take 30 plus weeks, which I can ill afford.

I have decided to approach a few machine shops to quote repair or replacement of the races. But before I do, I want to understand the difference between the Ball Diameters and the Radius they ride in.

The Thrust Bearing is from a Vertical Turret Lathe. The generic size of the bearing is 28" OD x 24" ID x 2 1/2" high.

The Balls in this bearing are 1.0000" Diameter. The radius that the balls ride in is .5400".

What is the rational for having such a big disparity between the radius of the ball and the radius of the ball groove.

Darrell

 

[unclesyd]

Your best bet is to send your bearing to a facility that specializes in Bearing repair. It would also pay to check several of these companies as they sometimes have a bearing laying around.

Here is just one of several. Again you should give them a call.

http://www.bearing-service.com/bearingrep.html

 

[DrDarrell]

It isn't angular.

There are two Cylindrical Races 24" ID x 28" OD x .982 Thick. There is a Track ground into each Race with a .540" radius around a 26" circle. (The 26" circle may be slightly diferent.) The Tracks are about .200" Deep. Approximately 60 1.0000" Diameter balls ride in the tracks.

Darrell

 

[bobc]

My first shot would be your local bearing house. They all are hooked to repair facilities. My next choice is Messinger Bearing in Philly. They are experts at making large bore bearings.

 

[JamesBarlow]

I'm just curious so what's wrong with the bearing that it needs to be repaired?

Given the lead time for this item I would have assumed that one would have been kept as a replacement. Was this an unexpected failure or did something happen.

Also, given the specialty nature of making large bore bearings like this, with materials/grinding/heat treating/finishing you may not be able to beat the quoted 30 weeks by much if at all.

In addition to what has been said you could also try the original manufacturer. I can only speak from my experience but Avon, who made large bore turret bearings for us, would also service the bearings and make repairs, if possible, in the event of some damage. Usually the customer didn't maintaing the bearing and then it became our problem.

 

[ischgl99]

The bearing manufacturers are your best source, the bearing will get a warranty and will be repaired to factory specs if it is repairable. A local machine shop will not be able to repair this bearing to a satisfactory level. Bearings have a certain profile and special heat treat specs that need to be followed to get long life from the bearing.

The cost of repair will depend on how much damage the bearing has. Typical services range from cleaning and polishing up through replacing races and rollers. Typical repair times are about 4-8 weeks if grinding the races and new rollers are necessary, but if new races are also required, then you are looking at much longer then that and could be as long as a new bearing. The only way to know for sure is to have it inspected by the repair shop or a field service engineer from the manufacturer.

If this is a critical application, I would recommend getting a new bearing on order even if you repair this bearing. 30 weeks leadtime on a new bearing is actually pretty good in this market and could be longer next time you need one.