A Fresh Look

We are pleased to announce that we have launched our new website. The new layout is better suited to viewing on mobiles phones and tablets whilst remaining just as informative as ever. We hope that you find it easy to navigate. Please do give us your feedback on it (good or bad).

euro-bearings new website
New Website from Euro-Bearings Ltd

Linear shafts – now on stock!

We can supply both standard hardened & ground (Cf53) shaft AND also stainless linear shaft (X90CrMoV18) from stock.

All shafts have a tolerance of h6 for running linear bearings on.

Please tell us the quantities and lengths you require for a quotation.

A Quick Guide to Choosing the Best Linear Motion Product

There is a vast range of linear motion products on the market and it can be difficult to know which product to select. This article discusses the various types of products available according to their rolling element and explores their advantages, disadvantages and limitations. Finally a selection chart clearly lists each product’s characteristics to help with specifying the best linear motion product.

Some of our linear motion products are shown in the table below:

Linear Bearings, Housings, Shafts & Supports Heavy Duty Rollers (NUTR, NUKR, NNTR) Vee Bearings Motion Guidance Systems (Standard & Aluminium)
Miniature Motion Guidance Track Guidance System Combined Roller Bearings Plain Sliding Linear Bearings

What are Linear Motion Products?

 The primary purpose of linear motion products is to move something from one place to another in one direction along a straight line. Usually this is achieved using a bearing with a rolling element. Traditionally this rolling element would be a ball or roller, but these days some linear motion bearings do not incorporate a rolling element and consequently are known as ‘plain’ bearings. These plain bearings are simply plastic or ceramic bushes and are sometimes lined with PTFE or oil impregnated plastic to help reduce the sliding friction. Continue reading

How to use Vee bearings and T-rails

Our Vee bearings and T-rails offer the user a simple way of constructing smooth running linear systems with a high load capacity and, in the case of the stainless steel version, corrosion resistance too. For this example we are selecting the following parts:

4 pcs EV W3X ( Vee Bearings)

2 pcs MB3 (Metric bore Concentric bush)

2 pcs MB3X (Metric bore Eccentric bush)

2 pcs T-3 x 1000mm ( T-3 rails 1 metre long)

The first thing to do is to decide the width of the track and then choose what material the T-rail will be attached to. In this example (see drawing) we have selected a piece of steel or aluminum 50mm wide and 1 metre long. Let’s call this the “support”. The precision of the system is dictated by how accurately this support material is manufactured.

The Rail and Support

Drilling the T-rail is easy. The flats are not hardened, only the tip of the vee, so normal drilling techniques can be used. Our preference is to clamp the T-rail to the support material and to drill pilot holes through the T-rail into the support. This means the centres will match. Double check that the T-rail edges are still parallel. Then drill through holes in the T-rails and drill and tap the support.

Finally bolt the T-rail onto the support. We tend to use dome head machine screws. Make sure the screw heads do not interfere with the carriage or rail edges. Also make sure that the rail edges are parallel.

The Carriage and Bearings

In this example we are making a carriage 150mm x 150mm with 4 no. W3X bearings. So again, select the material, steel or aluminium, for the carriage. The hole centre positions for the bearings (dimension “A” on the drawing) can be calculated as:

A = Width of support + 2 x TE + 2 x A1

The value for dimension TE can be found here http://www.euro-bearings.com/veerails.htm (TE in this case is 6.35mm).

And the value for dimension A1 can be found here http://www.euro-bearings.com/veesizes.htm (A1 in this case is 19.05mm).

NOTE: Dimension TE is the offset of tip of Vee rail from the support material. A1 is the dimension from centre of bearing to bottom of Vee. In our example this is 50 + (2x 6.35) + ( 2 x 19.05) = hole centres 100.8mm.

The eccentric bush MB3X allows 1.07mm of lateral adjustment.

Drill the holes through the carriage plate at 100.8mm centres (in this case 8.2mm diameter clearance holes for the M8 bolts we will use to secure the bearings).

Insert the concentric bushes into 2 bearings and insert the eccentric bushes into 2 bearings. Firmly secure the concentric bushed bearings to one side of the carriage plate and tighten. Loosely assemble the eccentric bushed bearings to the carriage plate and slide the carriage onto the T-rails. Now adjust the eccentric bushed bearings by feel (or feeler gauge) to achieve the pre-load required. Slide the carriage back & forth to ensure there are no pinch points. It is recommended to use hex cap head bolts and nyloc nuts through each bearing bush.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the outer ring of the bearing is turning on the inner ring of the bearing and NOT on the bush. The bearing should be an interference fit onto the bush.

Multi Purpose Combined Roller Bearings

Combined Roller Bearings were originally designed to be used in forklift truck masts. However, today they are used in a variety of applications (horizontally and vertically) and in a huge range of industries.

The smallest bearing is just 52.5mm in diameter and when used in conjunction with the corresponding steel profile, each bearing offers a load capacity of approximately 550kg. At the top end of the range the largest bearing is 390mm and has a capacity of over 30 tonnes.

The primary benefit of a Combined Roller Bearing over a standard track roller bearing is the integral side thrust roller bearing. This small roller is able to carry lateral loads and ensures free movement of the system.

To make a complete slide you simply need 2 rails and 4 bearings. The bearings can be welded directly to the structure or can be supplied pre-welded to a mounting plate and simply bolted into place. More complex, telescopic systems can be made by using additional rails and bearings to create further stages.

The application examples below show how versatile this sliding system is.

 

euro combined bearings and channels combined roller bearings forklift horizontal cantilever using combined roller bearings
telescopic combined roller bearings and rails telescopic combinaton bearing application i beam combi bearing cantilevered system

Being so versatile, combined roller bearings can be used in many applications including:Please click an image for more details.

  • Lifting & Handling Equipment
  • Offshore Cable & Pipe Laying
  • Specialised Vehicles
  • Packing Machines
  • Furnace Loaders
  • Agricultural Equipment

If you think you might have an application for Combined Roller Bearings, please contact our technical sales team. We have many years of experience and our team includes Engineers and Designers.