Aktiebolaget Skf

Maximilian Soellner

Hans-Juergen Friedrich

Alfred Radina

Jonas Schierling

Norbert Huhn

Harald Metz

Markus Volkmuth

Thomas Kettner

Berthold Beyfuss

Manfred Mattes

Achim Mueller

Martin Kemmer

Johannes Ullmann

Hans-Jürgen Friedrich

Stefan Volpert

A bearing cage for large rolling-element bearings includes a first side part and a second side part and a plurality of bridge elements connecting the first and second side parts to form a plurality of cage pockets each configured to receive a rolling element. The at least one bridge element and/or the first side part and/or the second side part includes at least one opening, and an insert element is mounted in each of the at least one opening and configured to contact the rolling element.

Bearing cage

A single-pocket cage segment of a multipart rolling-element bearing cage includes first and second side walls connected by first and second end walls. At least one of the first and second side walls or at least one of the first and second end walls is a semi-finished profile. The semi-finished profile may include a longitudinal channel in which a portion of an auxiliary body and/or a portion of a connector may be inserted.

Cage segment for a rolling-element bearing cage

A bearing cage segment for a segmented bearing cage includes a plurality of walls that define a pocket configured to receive a rolling element and an insert element captively retained in an opening in a first one of the plurality of walls. The insert element may be configured to guide a rolling element retained in the bearing cage and/or be configured as a lubricant reservoir.

Cage segment for a segmented cage

A method includes separating a strip of sheet metal from a sheet metal body by a combination of punching and laser cutting, the strip having a first joint edge having at least one first alignment element and a second joint edge having at least one second alignment element complementary to the at least one first alignment element, folding a longitudinal edge portion of the strip to form a flange, bending the strip into a ring and materially bonding the first joint edge to the second joint edge, installing the ring on a radially inner circumferential surface or a radially outer circumferential surface and mounting a plurality of rolling-elements on the ring. The first joint edge and the second joint edge are formed by the punching, and side edges connecting the first joint edge and the second joint edge are formed by the laser cutting.

Method of forming raceway element including a contoured joint edge

A raceway element for a rolling-element bearing, the rolling-element bearing having an inner ring, an outer ring, and a plurality of rolling elements that are disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. The raceway element is configured as an inner ring or as an outer ring, or is configured to be attachable to an inner ring or outer ring of the bearing, wherein at least one surface of the raceway element is configured as a raceway for the rolling elements. The raceway element is formed from a sheet metal panel having at least one recess formed in the surface configured as the raceway.

Sheet metal panel raceway including recesses

A cage segment defines a single pocket of a multipart rolling-element bearing cage and includes first and second circumferentially spaced side walls connected by first and second end walls. The first and second side walls and the first and second end walls are formed by at least one sheet metal segment connected at at least one joint.

A method of forming a bearing cage segment includes determining a path of a periphery of the bearing cage segment along a metal sheet, punching a plurality of openings in the metal sheet inside the path to form a plurality of pockets separated by a plurality of bridges and separating the bearing cage segment from the metal sheet at the path. The separating includes laser cutting first and second joint edges at a first end of the row and third and fourth joint edges at a second end of the row, where the first joint edge is spaced from the second joint edge in a length direction of the bridges and the third joint edge is spaced from the fourth joint edge in the length direction of the bridges.

Method of forming a bearing cage segment including a joint edge for welding

A method of forming a bearing cage segment includes punching a plurality of openings in a sheet metal band to form a plurality of pockets separated by a plurality of bridges, the bridges having a length direction transverse to a length direction of the band and having a width in the length direction of the band and having a thickness in a direction perpendicular the length direction and to the width, and laser cutting the sheet metal band along one of the plurality of bridges transversely to the length direction of the band to form a joint edge.

Method of forming a bearing cage segment including a joint edge in the region of a to-be-formed bridge

A bearing raceway element configured as an inner ring or as an outer ring, or configured to be attachable to an element serving as an inner ring or as an outer ring for the bearing or to an inner ring or an outer ring of the bearing. The raceway element is manufactured from a sheet metal panel and includes at least one first joint edge and at least one second joint edge directed in the circumferential direction that are configured to be connected to each other in order to form an annular raceway element. The at least one first joint edge is at least partially configured as a first alignment element and/or includes the first alignment element. Also a bearing including the raceway element and an associated method.

Method of forming raceway element including contoured joint edge

A sheet metal strip configured for use as an inner or outer raceway of a rolling-element bearing, and a method of forming the raceway by punching and/or laser cutting a strip of material from a metal sheet, bending the sheet into a ring and welding the ends of the strip together, and mounting the strip on a circular inner or outer surface to form an outer or inner raceway.

Raceway element and method for its manufacture

A method for manufacturing a bearing cage includes providing a bearing cage blank made from a metal plate, the cage blank including a cylindrical flange extending from a disk-shaped wall, punching a plurality of first openings through the cylindrical flange in a first direction to form a plurality of snap surfaces, and punching a plurality of second openings through the cylindrical wall in a second direction opposite the first direction to form a plurality of pockets. The second openings intersect at least two of the first openings, and punching the pockets removes a body of material from between the at least two of the first openings. Also a bearing cage formed by the method.

A cage segment is for a rolling-element bearing cage, particularly for large rolling-element bearings. The cage segment includes a first side element and a second side element that are connected by a first bridge and a second bridge. At least one pocket is formed between the first and second bridges which is suitable for receiving at least one rolling element. The cage segment is manufactured from sheet metal.

A sheet-metal bearing cage segment has a first ring section, at least one second ring section and a plurality of bridges connecting the first ring section and the at least one second ring section to each other such that a pocket for receiving at least one rolling element is formed between each circumferentially adjacent pair of the bridges. The first and/or second ring section includes at least one recess on the radially inner side and/or the radially outer side.

Bearing cage segment including at least one recess for facilitated bending

A bearing cage segment of a sheet metal cage includes first and second sheet metal ring sections and bridges therebetween defining a plurality of pockets for receiving rolling elements. A first circumferential joint edge of the segment is configured to connect to a second circumferential joint edge of the segment or to a second joint edge of another segment, and the first joint edge includes at least one alignment element, such as a projection or contour, that is configured to align the first joint edge radially, axially and/or circumferentially against the second joint edge which may include a complementary alignment element such as a recess or complementary contour.

Growing community of inventors

Bundorf, Germany

Maximilian Soellner