Ceramic Bearings

Ceramic ball bearings are the latest must have when it comes to some of the best bearings on the market. They are what many people across various industries have been waiting for. So what makes ceramic bearings better than there competitor the steel bearings?

Ceramic bearings are lighter, smoother, stiffer, harder and corrosion resistant as well as being electrically resistant. It is characteristics such as these that allow for a wide range of performance enhancements in bearings. They are constructed with a ferrous inner and outer ring/race with ceramic balls taking the place of steel balls. They offer many advantages over their competitor steel balls such as higher speed and acceleration capability, increased stiffness and lower friction plus much more!

As ceramic bearings are made from silicon nitride, which means that they have a greater hardness than steel balls, but what does this mean to their performance? Well for one if ensures that the machinery you are using the balls in have a longer life. Also it means that the ceramic balls weight up to 40% less than steel ones and they can operate up to 20% or 40% faster than steel ball bearings.

The advantages associated with ceramic bearings just keep coming; another one being that with ceramic bearings you are giving your machinery or automobile a greater life span as the components won’t rust. They are non-conductive and are available in standard configurations such as angular bearings, thrust bearings, pillow block bearings, needle bearings and roller bearings. Some of the most typical uses for ceramic bearings are within high temperature applications, friction, high speed, semiconductor applications and dental hand turbines as well as many high speed electric motors requiring voltage isolation, which use ceramic material bearings.

The advantages and fundamental characteristics of ceramic bearings ensure a wide range of performance enhancements within the bearings. For example ceramic bearings are particularly well suited for use within extremely harsh environments where high temperatures or corrosive and erosive substances are present. This is down to the fact that conditions like this are generally a problem for standard bearings.

When ceramic bearings are used instead of standard bearings such as steel bearings they are able to last up to ten times longer. This is extremely important as it means it reduces machinery down-time and ultimately maintenance costs as ceramic bearings have a higher wear resistance and an ability to work well in different running conditions.

One other reason as to why ceramic bearings work better than other types is thanks to the fact that they require less lubrication in comparison to other types. Also in certain types of ceramic bearings no lubrication is required at all. This is all according to the engineers of the bearings, who also state that the noise created by the use of these bearings is far less than bearings such as steel ones or other traditional forms.

I think it is safe to say that ceramic bearings are defiantly the future and if you have any pieces of machinery or technology that require the use of bearings I recommend that you consider the use of ceramic bearings if you are looking for a generally better performance in a way that is going to save you money.

Get your Ceramic Bearings today from Howcroft Industrial Supplies; leaders in all aspects of Bearings.