Materials

Materials for rolling bearings

The correct selection of materials for a rolling bearing is an essential factor for the longevity of our products. This requires extensive knowledge and experience of the tensile strength, corrosion resistance, hardness or brittleness of steels, metals, their alloys, ceramics and polymers as well as composite materials. Not every material can be processed equally well in rolling bearing production. In addition, the steels achieve very different hardness values during the necessary heat treatment.

Rolling bearing steels

Normally, rolling bearings are made from the chromium steels 100Cr6 (1.3505) and 100CrMo7-3 (1.3536), but also from the quenched and tempered steel 42CrMo4 (1.7225). Case-hardened steels such as 1.7131 (16MnCr5) are used for rolling bearings whose application requires high surface hardness combined with a ductile core. For applications in corrosive environments, X46Cr13 (1.4034) and X105CrMo17 (1.4125) steels are often used. Hardenable NIRO steels are never truly "stainless" but are considered corrosion resistant.

Hybrid bearings

For hybrid bearings the bearing rings are made of bearing steel and compined with balls made of creamic. A typical ceramic material is Si3N4. 

Plastics

For special operating conditions, there are rolling bearings made of stainless steel, ceramic (usually made of silicon nitride), and hybrid bearings in which the bearing rings are made of steel but the rolling elements are made of ceramic (silicon nitride or zirconium dioxide).

For applications where the noise level is to be reduced or the use of lubricants in the contact pairing of track roller to rail is to be avoided, we use plastic outer casings. Plastics such as polyamides (PA6.6; PA12) or POM (polyoxymethylene) are used for this, but also high-performance plastics such as PEEK (polyetheretherketone) and PAI (polyamideimide).