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Construction Machinery Bearings and Components
An estimated 10 billion bearings are manufactured annually. Of these, about 50 million are removed from service due to damage or equipment failure. Global construction machinery sales reached 1.2 million units in 2022, encouraging bearing manufacturers to meet this demand without compromising quality.
Heavy-duty bearings for construction machinery must be able to handle extreme workloads, repetition, and unpredictable environments without exhibiting premature signs of wear. Choosing the best bearings for construction equipment is critical to avoiding unnecessary warranty claims and improving your design's performance. Construction machinery is versatile and dynamic, which is why every bearing deserves careful analysis.
What Is Construction Machinery Equipment?
Construction machinery equipment is a broad term for all machinery used in construction to streamline workflows. It's often designed specifically to perform challenging or time-consuming tasks for your customers to complete manually. Examples range from small handheld tools like bolt cutters to heavy machinery like excavators and skid steers.
Construction machinery equipment designs depend on the size and scope of the project, and regardless of type, they have several features in common:
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Carrying out various construction processes: This equipment must facilitate streamlined project completion, including tasks like land preparation, transportation, demolition and excavation.
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Performing in challenging conditions: Every construction project is different. Equipment must match the on-site conditions to boost project efficiency and quality.
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Facilitating job site safety: Worker safety is paramount on many construction projects. All construction machinery equipment and individual components must meet regulatory standards, including maintenance repairs and operator training.
The right machinery equipment selection allows for timely project completion, improves work quality, and boosts operator satisfaction. Even the smallest components, like bearings, can impact machinery performance.
The Physical Influence of Bearings in Construction Machinery Equipment
Bearings in construction are among the most commonly used parts as their rolling motion creates frictionless movement. They have two key features — transferring motion and transmitting force. Without bearings, many types of equipment would cease to function. Some of the primary ways bearings influence construction machinery equipment include:
High Load Capacity
Bearings are purpose-built to handle significant loads while maintaining smooth operations, making them ideally suited for light and heavy-duty applications. In construction, this versatility is particularly important to avoid additional time and labor costs.
Enhanced Durability
Material quality is one of the most critical components to maximizing bearings' useful life. Construction equipment bearings must be made of superior steel to increase bearing fatigue and boost operational performance. High-quality bearings offer maximum performance even under challenging conditions. Whether for daily use or tough environments, they tackle various construction challenges without breaking down.
Increased Performance
Quality bearings have superior wear resistance and high shock load capacity. They reduce friction during operation, leading to extended equipment longevity and improved performance.
Improved Product Consistency
When every component in a construction machine functions optimally, the end result is enhanced precision and repeatability. In short, bearing selection can make your manufacturing and production output increasingly consistent. Like any component, stringent quality control and consistent manufacturing processes are essential to create a reliable end product.
Repeatability is crucial in bearings and other construction equipment components. You can meet customer demands confidently when you know your bearings remain the same in every production batch.
Protected Machinery Components
Construction machinery generates a lot of force, and bearings prevent damage from this force and support the correct movement and position of various machine components. Bearings in construction machinery must have a high tolerance to radial and axial loads, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for construction applications. Instead, customizing bearings maximizes their strength so that they can support your construction machinery and equipment.
Maximized Fracture Resistance
Bearings distribute and transfer loads and forces within a machine, providing support and allowing for controlled movement. You can order bearings with robust retainers, large rivets, and more to resist vibrational damage during machine operation. By reducing friction and controlling movement, bearings distribute energy, increasing fracture resistance and reducing the chances of machine failure.
The Benefits of Bearings in Construction Machinery
Bearings are crucial in construction machinery, reducing friction and enabling smooth movement between machine parts. One of the main advantages of quality bearings is that they help distribute significant weight and force evenly, preventing excess wear and tear on the equipment.
They are commonplace in machinery such as forklifts, backhoes and cranes. As they reduce friction, bearings also minimize energy loss and heat generation, improving overall project efficiency and extending equipment longevity.
Heavy loads and vibrations are common in construction. Bearings provide stability and support to construction machinery, ensuring it can withstand challenging conditions.
From scissor lifts to backhoe loaders, the right bearings optimize equipment performance and streamline your workflow, leading to increased overall productivity. Some options offer superior compressive strength, vibration tolerance and environmental resistance, making them ideal for a variety of job sites.
Common Bearing Types
Bearings for construction equipment have specific functions for various equipment types. Some typical bearing types include:
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Cylindrical roller bearings: These bearings reduce friction in heavy-duty applications, making linear contact between the roller and the raceways. They increase radial load capacity compared to ball bearings and are ideal for high-speed applications.
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Tapered roller bearings: This option comprises inner and outer rings containing rolling elements. A cage holds the rollers together and the inner and outer ring raceways are tapered. This tapering facilitates the handling of large axial and radial loads simultaneously. Double-row bearings work on the same principle but allow radial and axial loads to be taken from both directions.
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Deep groove ball bearings: This versatile option accommodates primarily radial loads and minimal axial loads in both directions. They are the most widely used bearing type due to their versatility, simplified mounting, and low maintenance requirements.
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Spherical roller bearings: These bearings' inner and outer ringscontain barrel-shaped rollers. The cages keep the rollers separate, ensuring consistent, smooth rotation. The inner ring can swivel outwards, providing the unique benefit of handling misalignment well. These bearings also offer superior shock protection and can handle heavy radial and axial loads.
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Needle roller bearings: This option contains multiple small and elongated cylindrical rollers, providing a large contact area with rotating surfaces. This continuous contact means you can spread heavy loads over a greater surface area.
Get the Most from Your Bearings with WD Bearings
Bearings perform multiple critical functions in the construction industry. They can make or break your project and working with an expert to find the ideal solution boosts project timelines and equipment safety. At WD Bearings, we believe that quality creates value, which is why we provide our customers with personalized bearing solutions, balancing budget and performance without sacrificing quality. Whatever your application, we have the skills and expertise to help you select the best bearing solution.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in several industries trust WD Bearings to supply bearings for applications including material handling, construction, agriculture and more. Contact us to learn more about our high-quality 99.98% VIM steel bearings.
Trusted. Experienced. Flexible.
Success Testimonials
They listened to my requirements and preferences for the design of my application and were able to offer lots of ideas to meet my needs. One year later, I am confident I have more seasons of use remaining in the bearings.
WD listened to our requirements when we needed to refresh an aging design following a change in direction. They presented several options with a patiently designed hybrid solution.
The documentation at WD is clear and precise and the combination of hands on experience there is obviously of a professional nature. I would recommend WD to anyone.
WD listened to our needs and accurately provided high-quality bearing products that fully met our requirements. These ensure that our customers have a high level of trust in the quality of our products.
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