A new lightweight cage helps to boost the limiting speed by at least 60% compared to traditional designs. Additionally, the polymeric cage helps to reduce friction, leading to quieter operation and allowing higher power density in the application.
“Our new cage design helps our customers to get more power from electric motors, which enables downsizing,” says Andreas Pichler, business and project engineer at SKF.
By improving the efficiency of electric machines and drives, the new bearing can cut energy consumption, increase reliability and reduce the total cost of ownership, according to SKF.
Its two-piece cage is made from PEEK and PA66, making it 80% lighter than a brass cage. As well as running more quietly, the bearing operates at a lower temperature, which prolongs grease life and extends relubrication intervals. This can give engineers more flexibility in their design choices.
In addition, its limiting speed is twice that of a single-piece polyamide cage, and 60% higher than a brass one.
Rigidly connected cage bars ensure robustness, which helps to lengthen service life in harsh conditions. The optimised geometry also eliminates radial deformation from high centrifugal forces, the ‘umbrella effect’, that typically occurs on snap-type cages running at high speed, SKF said.