Adjusted Bearing Support

Schaeffler tapered roller bearings in X-life quality are another option for reducing friction without making a design change. Friction can be halved compared to conventional bearings through specially machined raceway and roller surfaces as well as optimized geometry in the contact between the end face of the rolling element and the inner ring rib. Even at the low speeds during the start-up process, an elastohydrodynamic lubricant film forms due to the improved surfaces and osculations, which reduces the wear and friction under the already very low viscosity lubrication conditions. The optimizations to the internal design also led to a significant noise reduction along with approximately 25 percent higher dynamic load ratings as compared to standard tapered roller bearings from Schaeffler, resulting in a calculated rating life increase of more than 100 percent. Similar progress can be achieved by using cylindrical roller bearings in X-life quality. The high dynamic load ratings allow a changeover from full-complement cylindrical roller bearings to cage-guided cylindrical roller bearings with significantly less friction. Friction-Reducing Coating For rolling bearings and cylindrical roller bearings with radial and axial loads as well as tapered roller bearings, Schaeffler offers its proprietary friction-reducing coating Triondur C. This diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating is specifically optimized for loads in the rolling element contact and reduces the friction in a “dry steel-to-steel contact” by around 80 percent. Reduced Friction Through Downsizing Downsizing or higher power density is not only associated with a lower consumption of materials and energy during manufacturing; it also leads to reduced friction in drive systems. As described above, rolling bearings in X-life quality offer the required reserves thanks to their load ratings. With high-performance rolling bearing steels from Schaeffler, such as Cromadur, it is possible to unlock further potential for increasing the power density.