April 19, 2022 | Volume 18 Issue 15 |
Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight
Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops
Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants
The combination of proprietary grease and a newly developed cage enables NSK's latest-generation ball bearing for EV motors to operate at over 1.8 million dmN.
Bearing manufacturer NSK claims that it has created the world's fastest grease-lubricated deep-groove ball bearing for electric vehicle (EV) motors. The development includes special cage and materials design, along with a special grease.
NSK is the top supplier of bearings in Japan and is the third-largest supplier in the world by market share.
Automakers are pursuing smaller and lighter automotive components and developing faster, higher-output motors operating at higher efficiencies. Because of this, bearings used in powertrains, especially in electric motors, are being subjected to increasingly higher speeds and more challenging performance demands.
NSK has been involved in development efforts to keep up with these trends. In 2020, the Japanese company announced that it had made significant advancements in cage and anti-seizure technology, and that these improvements were available in its second-generation ultra-high-speed ball bearing. That design boasted 1.4 million dmN for rotational performance, as measured by the product of bearing pitch diameter (dm) in millimeters and rotational speed (N).
The latest announcement from NSK concerns the third-generation model of the ultra-high-speed ball bearing design, which is aimed at EV motors and is capable of operating at over 1.8 million dmN (a 28.5% increase over the second-generation design).
The design steps taken by NSK to optimize the cage of the new bearing: 1. Issue -- Potential deformation of bearing cage due to centrifugal force. 2. Working shape -- Maximize strength and minimize weight of cage. Remove parts not contributing to durability or rigidity. 3. Final shape -- Verification of performance and production consideration resulting in the optimal design combined with ease of manufacturing.
Development of the new ball bearing concentrated on three main areas of improvement:
NSK says the new ball bearings should enable customers to develop and implement smaller and lighter electric motors that operate at significantly higher speeds. Lightweight, more efficient motors can contribute to improved fuel economy and increased maximum vehicle range.
Learn more about NSK products for automotive applications at nsk.com/products/automotive/index.html and specifically for EVs at nsk.com/products/automotive/electrification/index.html.
NSK's U.S. operations are headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI. Their phone is +1-734-913-7500.
Source: NSK
Published April 2022