**Instructions for the Use of KOYO Bearings in Machine Tools**
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Source: China Bearing Network | Time: July 4, 2014
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KOYO bearings are widely used in various critical components of machine tools, including spindles, ball screws, and drive shafts. These bearings play a vital role in ensuring the performance, accuracy, and longevity of the machine tool.
The spindle bearing is one of the most important parts of a machine tool. It serves as the central support structure and directly affects the machine’s speed, precision, rigidity, vibration control, noise level, temperature rise, and thermal deformation. All these factors influence the quality and surface finish of the machined parts. Therefore, high-performance machine tools require high-quality KOYO bearings to ensure optimal operation.
The precision of KOYO bearings is typically categorized into five grades: P0, P6, P5, P4, and P2. For fine machine tools, bearings with a precision grade of P5 or higher are usually required. In high-speed and high-precision CNC machines, bearings with a grade of P4 or higher are necessary to maintain stability and accuracy during fast operations.
There are six common types of bearing arrangements used in machine tools: Deep Groove Ball Bearings, angular contact ball bearings, Cylindrical Roller Bearings, double-direction thrust angular contact ball bearings, Tapered Roller Bearings, and thrust bearings. Each type is selected based on the specific application requirements.
With the rapid advancement of numerical control (NC) technology, the trend in the machine tool industry is moving toward "composite, high-speed, intelligent, fine, and environmentally friendly" systems. High-speed machining significantly improves productivity and reduces processing time. To meet this demand, machine tool spindles and their associated components must be designed for high-speed operation. Currently, most CNC spindle bearings use four main types: angular contact ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, double-direction thrust angular contact ball bearings, and tapered roller bearings.
As the main shaft of CNC machine tools continues to develop at high speeds, ceramic materials—primarily silicon nitride (Si₃N₄)—are increasingly being used due to their low density, high elastic modulus, small thermal expansion coefficient, wear resistance, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance. Ceramic bearings offer better performance for high-speed applications. However, due to the difficulty in processing ceramics, most fine ceramic bearings still use chrome steel inner rings with ceramic balls.
Ball screw pairs serve as efficient and precise transmission components. In addition to high-precision screws, nuts, and balls, it's essential to select KOYO bearings that provide high axial stiffness, low friction torque, and high working accuracy. Commonly used bearings include angular contact ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, needle and thrust roller combinations, deep groove ball bearings, and Thrust Ball Bearings. Among these, the 60° single-row thrust angular contact ball bearing is the most commonly used for ball screw support, with a precision grade typically matching the requirements of the system.
In general, when referring to "machine tool bearings," we usually mean spindle bearings and ball screw bearings. Fine machine tool bearings typically refer to P5 or higher precision spindle bearings and ball screw bearings.
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This article was originally published on China Bearing Network.
Please cite the source: http://www.chinabearing.net
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