Slewing Ring Bearings, commonly referred to as Slew Bearings, are designed for applications requiring intermittent rotation while managing heavy radial, axial, and moment loads. Each bearing consists of an inner and outer ring, often equipped with bolt hole patterns for secure face mounting. They are available in steel, stainless steel, or polymer constructions to meet diverse engineering needs.
PBC Linear offers a specialized range of Slewing Bearings with outer diameters from 80 mm to 310 mm, engineered for high-performance applications such as solar tracking systems, medical devices, robotics, radar systems, and satellite antennas. Choose from our selection of ball bearing and polymer slew rings to meet your specific requirements. All Slewing Ring Bearings are stocked and ready for immediate shipment from our US facility. Explore the sections below to find the optimal solution for your project, or consult with our expert application engineers for tailored guidance.
Ball Bearing Slewing Bearing Series Features & Benefits
- Versatile Performance: Excels in applications ranging from light to heavy loads.
- Superior Load Handling: Deep groove raceways and maximum size balls provide higher torque, thrust, and radial load capacity compared to standard four-point contact ball bearings.
- High Stiffness: Offers exceptional rigidity for demanding bearing applications.
- Cost-Effective: Delivers an excellent price/performance ratio.
- Excellent Durability: Ensures a long service life.
- Enhanced Protection: Larger seals and non-contact dust covers on the bearing grooves effectively block contaminants.
Polymer Series Slewing Bearing Features & Benefits
- Self-Lubricating: Slewing Bearings are a good solution for clean rooms and hard-to-reach areas because of their oil-free design.
- Maintenance-Free Operation: These bearings do not require regular maintenance, which reduces downtime and labor costs.
- Longevity: With low-friction, replaceable sliding pads, these bearings offer extended service life.
- High Load Capacity: Self-lubricating slewing rings retain all the benefits of traditional slewing rings, including their ability to handle high loads and intermittent rotation.
- Versatility: Suitable for a wide range of applications, from robotics to food processing.
Slewing Ring Bearing Components
The bearing comprises an inner and outer ring made of medium carbon steel. Each ring features at least one precision raceway designed to transfer loads and relative motion between different equipment structures.
Hardened chrome alloy steel balls act as the rolling elements, facilitating relative rotation and load transmission between the inner and outer rings.
Plastic spacers separate the rolling elements and are engineered to reduce friction, skidding, and jamming during rotation, which can result from load distribution and distortion of the mounting structures and bearing rings during equipment operation.
Slewing ring bearings have uniformly spaced through holes. If a special bolt pattern or tapped hole is required, contact our application engineers.
Each side of the slewing ring bearings is equipped with an elastomer seal to retain lubricant and protect the bearing from dust and small particle contamination. These seals are compatible with most general-purpose lubricants containing mineral oil and greases with lithium or calcium thickeners.
A hole is drilled into the non-geared ring to allow the balls to be loaded into the final slewing ring assembly. This hole is then sealed with a taper pin. Removing the load plug will void the warranty.
Some series of Slew Ring Bearings have gears on the inner or outer ring.
A grease fitting is provided in one of the bearing rings for periodic lubrication of the raceway and internal components, with larger bearings having more fittings.
The bearing part number and serial number are located next to the filler plug.