Page 14 - Industrial Technology magazine February 2021 issue

MACHINE BUILDING

70 years old but with

an entire future ahead

NEEDLE ROLLER BEARINGS

IN 1950, THE IDEA OF A CAGE-GUIDED NEEDLE ROLLER BEARING WAS
CONCEIVED, REVOLUTIONISING BEARING TECHNOLOGY. SCHAEFFLER
HAS SOLD MORE THAN 100 BILLION WORLDWIDE, AND THESE
BEARINGS HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY IN FUTURE MARKETS.

ome 70 years ago, Dr.-Ing. E.h. Georg Schaeffler bearings and significantly improve the performance of
revolutionised bearing technology. The idea was their applications.
to improve guidance of the needles in the needle In particular, needle roller bearings made an
Sroller bearing by using a cage. The first practical invaluable contribution to the development of small,
tests involving cage-guided needle roller bearings began in high-performance, and affordable vehicles. “Without
February 1950. The results were convincing – the reliable needle roller bearings, modern automotive
components exhibited extremely low wear and friction. drives would still be inconceivable today,” says
The application for a patent in September 1950 laid the Matthias Zink, CEO for automotive technologies at
foundation for the product's success. Schaeffler. The use of needle roller bearings in
In February 1951, just one year after construction of mechanical and plant engineering, construction and
the first prototype, the first volume production orders were agricultural machinery, and in conveyor technology,
obtained from automotive manufacturers, and use in was also being gradually introduced.
industrial applications was to follow. “With this invention,
my father, Georg Schaeffler, laid the foundation for the Role in future markets
rapid growth of our company,” says Georg F. W. Schaeffler, Needle roller bearings will continue to play a key
family shareholder and chairman of the supervisory board. role in the future. In e-mobility, needle roller
The cage-guided needle roller bearing is one of the most bearings are vital for the function of numerous
important innovations in our company’s history as an electrified transmissions. Needle roller and cage
automotive and industrial supplier. The development of assemblies facilitate bearing arrangements with a minimal
this very product is, in itself, an impressive example of design envelope, since their section height only
what sets us apart: we have utilised all synergies in the corresponds to the diameter of the needle rollers. In
cage-guided needle roller bearing, which will allow us to addition, they have a high load carrying capacity and are
serve all relevant target markets with this innovative inexpensive compared with other bearing designs. KZK Technological developments
product and generate real customer benefits – in both the needle roller bearings (crank pin cages) are used, for What originally started life as an ingenious idea by Dr.-Ing.
automotive and the industrial sector.” example, in e-axles with a coaxial E.h. Georg Schaeffler, has been continuously developed by
design. One application example Schaeffler engineers over the course of 70 years, both in
Higher speeds with less friction is the Schaeffler e-axle drive, terms of performance and the variety of available types.
With the invention, Schaeffler which has been produced Compared to a machined needle roller bearing from the
eliminated the serious for the Audi e-tron since 1950s, the operating life for bearings with the same
disadvantages associated with 2018. dimensions has increased 15-fold, and the static load
the full complement needle In industry too, where carrying capacity has tripled. The power density, which
roller bearings that had lightweight robots are has been enormously improved thanks to the needle roller
previously been used as increasingly in demand, and cage assembly, offers considerable downsizing
standard – the long needle the use of needle potential for applications that are easier on energy and
rollers tended to move in a bearings permits light resources.
transverse direction during and compact joint There has also been a steady increase in the variety of
rotation of the bearing (skewing), designs by means of types. Today, the Schaeffler needle roller bearing portfolio
which would then cause the downsizing. The needle comprises more than 15,000 variants to fulfill a wide
bearing to jam. bearings provide minimal variety of requirements. Since the patent application was
Furthermore, a substantial amount variability and the highest level of filed 70 years ago, Schaeffler has sold a total of more than
of sliding friction was generated between safety. The most recent example is the 100 billion needle roller bearings. The length of the wires
the counter-rotating needle rollers. The angular contact needle roller bearing XZU from used in the production of 60 billion needle roller bearings
development of the new needle cage overcame these Schaeffler, which is used both as an articulated arm annually would be sufficient to wind around the Earth’s
disadvantages and permitted considerably higher speeds bearing in lightweight robots and cobots, and as the main equator 18 times. Almost 170 million needle rollers
and less friction. This allowed engineers to substitute bearing arrangement in the new RTWH precision gearbox, are produced from this wire every day.
other bearing designs for cage-guided needle roller a ready-to-install reduction gear unit for robot joints. MORE INFORMATION: www.schaeffler.co.uk

14 INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • January/February 2021