AST Bearings continues to offer bearing product technical information on the company's blog. Topics in 2016 include Bearing Design Considerations, Hazardous Substances Directive, Mounting Spherical Plain Bearings and Preloading Ball Bearings. Check back frequently to get the latest bearing news and technical information. Here's a preview of a recent posting:

Tech Spotlight: Preloading Ball Bearings  

In the case of ball bearings, preload is often a misunderstood concept and overlooked by designers and bearing users alike.

One of the final steps in the bearing manufacturing process is the assembly of the individual bearing components: the outer ring, inner ring, balls and retainer (or ball separator). When the bearings are assembled, it is necessary to have a controlled amount of internal clearance, or looseness between the rings and balls. This is referred to as radial play in most bearing catalogs.

In certain applications, this internal clearance must be removed for a pair of bearings to operate properly. The application of an axial load across a pair of bearings – for the purpose of removing free internal clearances – is called preload. 

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