1.7 Unground Ball Bearings

The foregoing discussion has referred to ball bearings of the highest quality of materials and workmanship. Other bearings of lower quality can be purchased for installations requiring less accuracy or where cost is the controlling factor. The rings are made on automatic screw machines and are hardened but not ground.

Different types of construction are in use. The bearing of Fig. 1-10(a) has the outer ring split by a plane perpendicular to the axis. The bearing is assembled by spinning the edges of the bushing, which is slipped over the outer rings. The bearing of Fig. 1-10(b) has a split inner ring, and is made by staking the bore of the inner ring as shown. Various additional features, such as pulleys, gears, castor wheels, and so on, can be incorporated as an integral part of the outer ring. Fig. 1-10 (c) shows a sheave-idler in which the outer ring is formed by the stampings comprising the sheave. Unground ball bearings are frequently cheaper than an equivalent plain bushing.

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