Disc springs for bearings
Disc springs for bearings are elastic conical washers, whose function is to be assembled with the ball bearings to act as retention devices.
These springs provide the bearing with an elastic support which allows to absorb the vibrations it is exposed to, eliminating the noise produced when rotating without an axial load. Disc springs act as a compensator of thermal expansions produced by the heating/cooling of the shaft to which the bearing is assembled. Through this type of fixing the useful life of the bearing is increased. Thickness of this type of springs is proportionally lower than other types of elastic washers as the forces to be developed are lower.
The advantage of these springs is the little force variation produced in a wide area of their displacement capacity. In this way, we obtain a spring that apart from providing the force needed for correct axial fixing of the bearing, it is able to maintain it within a suitable range for the correct performance of the bearing, without being overloaded or loosened due to compressions or expansions.
Types of disc springs for bearings
There are two types of disc springs for bearings: plain model and slotted model.
- Plain: This model consists of an elastic conical washer whose design features make the force curve vs defection be of regressive type. This allows low force variation with regards to its deflection.
- Slotted: This model is a variation compared with the previous one, in which the washer has some slots in its internal circumference. The objective of this design is to obtain a lower pre-load force and the minimum variation of that force for the higher deflection of the piece. This is particularly interesting for very small bearings.
Parallel stacks
For specific applications in which a force higher than the force the washer is giving is needed, parallel stacks can be carried out, which will increase the spring force proportionally to the number of springs used. In this case, when carrying out the calculations, it should be considered that the hysteresis produced due to the friction of the pieces will have an effect on the force curve vs deflection.
Materials
Disc springs for bearings are manufactured from high-quality spring stainless steel. They can be manufactured from other materials with the objective to offer resistance to corrosion, high or low temperatures or from a non-magnetic type material. Stainless steels and alloys such as Inconel or Nimonic 90 are used. If using materials different from the standard material, it should be considered that the spring calculation will vary because these steels have a different elasticity module. In some cases, it is necessary to manufacture the pieces in different thicknesses with the objective to meet the specifications of the original spring. Please, consult our engineers who can advise you on the best solution.
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