Studies on the Solid Retainer Materials for Ball Bearings (1st Report) Wearing Properties of Various Metals and Alloys Against the Quenched Chromium Bearing Steels

Abstract

The ball bearing is constructed of balls, inner race, outer race and retainer (solid or pressed). It isthe most important for the solid retainer to have a high tensile strength and also good anti-wearing properties against the quenched Chromium bearing steels. The author, here, has selected copper based 13 alloys, aluminium based 8 alloys, and 5 ferrous alloys as specimens, and excuted the tension tests of these 26 alloys and wearing tests against bearing steels, using Suzuki’s wearing test machine. The wearing test conditions are as follows: pressure 3, 5, or 7 kg/cm² in air, velocity 56 cm/sec, and pressure 15 kg/cm² in transformer oil, velocity ditto. As the results of total worn weight of both bearing steel and specimen in oil, the following materials are recommended to be excellent as the retainer material in the order of superiority: stainless steel (Mark 7), broze (A and B), malleable cast iron (10), free cutting steel (9), phosphor-bronze (I, K, and T), silzin bronze (M), Al-Sn-Cu alloy (3), mild steel (8), and Pb bronze (D). The stainless steel is the best in wearing test, but will be difficult to be used as a retainer, owing to its bad heat-conductivity.