The key Points of Bearing research and future development trend

Bearings are key mechanical components in the manufacturing industry chain. They can not only reduce friction, but also support loads, transmit power and maintain positioning, thereby promoting the efficient operation of equipment. The global bearing market is about 40 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 53 billion U.S. dollars by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%. The bearing industry can be regarded as a traditional industry dominated by enterprises, which has been operating efficiently for decades. In the past few years, only a small number of industries have prominent trends, which are more dynamic than before, and may play an important role in shaping the industry within this decade. The following is the focus of bearing research and development and the future development direction:

1. Customization. In the industry (especially automotive and aerospace), the trend of "integrated bearings" is increasing, and the surrounding parts of the bearing have become inaccessible parts of the bearing itself. This type of bearing was developed to minimize the number of bearing components in the final assembled product. Therefore, the use of "integrated bearings" reduces equipment costs, increases reliability, provides easier installation, and extends service life. The demand for "application-specific solutions" is increasing substantially on a global scale, and has greatly stimulated the interest of customers. The bearing industry is turning to the development of new special bearings. Therefore, bearing suppliers provide professional customized bearings to meet the special requirements of agricultural machinery, automotive turbochargers and other applications.

2. Life prediction and condition monitoring. Bearing designers use sophisticated simulation software tools to better match the bearing design with actual operating conditions. Nowadays, the computer and analysis codes used in bearing design and analysis have reasonable engineering certainty, which can predict bearing performance, life and reliability. The predictive ability exceeds the level of ten years ago and does not require expensive and time-consuming experiments or field tests. As people place higher demands on existing assets in terms of increasing output and increasing efficiency, it becomes more and more important to understand when problems start to occur. Unexpected equipment failures can be costly and can have catastrophic consequences, leading to unplanned production shutdowns, expensive parts replacements, and safety and environmental issues. Bearing condition monitoring can dynamically monitor various equipment parameters, helping to detect failures before catastrophic failures occur. Bearing OEMs continue to develop “smart bearings” with sensing functions. This technology enables the bearing to continuously transmit its operating status through internally powered sensors and data acquisition electronics.

3. Materials and coatings. Even under harsh working conditions, advanced materials extend the life of the bearing. The bearing industry currently uses materials that were not easily available a few years ago, such as hard coatings, ceramics and new special steels. These materials can greatly improve performance and efficiency. In some cases, special bearing materials enable heavy equipment to operate effectively without lubricants. These materials and specific heat treatment conditions and geometric structures can handle extreme temperatures and treatment conditions, such as particle contamination and extreme loads. In the past few years, the improvement of the surface texture of rolling elements and raceways and the addition of wear-resistant coatings have accelerated significantly. For example, the development of tungsten carbide coated balls that are both wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant is a major development. These bearings are very suitable for high stress, high impact, low lubrication and high temperature conditions. As the global bearing industry responds to emission regulatory requirements, improved safety standards, lightweight products with lower friction and noise, increased reliability expectations, and fluctuations in global steel prices, R&D expenditure seems to be a strategic decision to lead the market. In addition, most organizations continue to focus on accurate demand forecasts and integrate digitalization into manufacturing to gain global advantages.