A More Durable Ball Bearing

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A More Durable Ball Bearing
A ball bearing can be simply defined as a part of a machine that aids in movement by reducing the amount of friction between two moving parts of a machine. Different types of ball bearings are made for different purposes and are used in different environments. Therefore, the best type of metal or alloy to make ball bearings that are more durable is a subject up for discussion. Having said this, there is always a notion that a hybrid product is better than a single-element product.
As early as the need of man to move things, so was the necessity to make the actual moving less cumbersome. From dragging things on the ground to learning how to roll items using round pieces of logs, man's need for movers grew. This innovation led to man learning how to fix the movers on the actual object being moved, and there came the first "wheels". Instead of rolling on each other, its materials had bearings rubbing on each other. Since then not much was done in accordance to rollers until the 18th Century when Philip Vaughan, a Welsh iron-master had his ball bearing design patented that supported a carriage's axle. Since then advancements have been made to the ball bearings that we use today.
The ball bearing industry uses different alloys and metals during the production stage of ball bearings. To start with, some ball bearings are made of Chrome Steel. This kind of material is the most commonly used in the industry. It contains a high carbon composition and a chromium content of about 1.5%. Ball bearings made from chrome steel have high cracking resistance strength as well as a hard surface to resist contact sub surface fatigue while rolling and as a result, they are used in the drilling industry (Gillespie 2008). Using additional melting steps, chrome steel can be processed, and the result is a uniform material with very fine grains called extra clean chrome steel. It usually has a smooth texture because of the fine grains. This means that the ball bearing will be very silent during their movements. This type of chrome steel exhibits wear resistance and excellent hardness. However, due to a low chromium content, it has a poor corrosion resistance. This means that its surface must be polished with a rust inhibitor or always oiled to prevent oxidation.
The second material used in the production of ball bearings is Stainless Steel. Stainless steel has a higher content of chromium than chrome steel. After oxidation of the chromium, a layer of chromium oxide is formed on the surface. The result is a material resistant to surface corrosion. Stainless steel can be modified during processing by introducing nitrogen as an alloying element and lowering the carbon content. This result to an alloy of high strength, a high hardness level with a superior microstructure and in certain applications, its fatigue life is extended by as much as 100 %( double). This kind of steel is known as Martensitic Stainless Steel. Austenitic Stainless Steel is another variation of stainless steel that has a lower carbon content, resulting to non-magnetic ball bearings that have greater corrosion resistance. However, there is a tradeoff. These materials cannot be hardened hence the ball bearings only opera...