Bearings are a key mechanical component in the manufacturing industry chain. It 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 US$40 billion and is expected to reach US$53 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%.
The bearing industry can be considered as a traditional industry dominated by enterprises and has been operating efficiently for decades. In the past few years, only a small number of industry trends have been prominent, more dynamic than before, and may play an important role in shaping the industry within this decade.
The following are the key points of bearing R&D and future development directions:
1. Customization
In industry (especially automotive and aerospace), the trend of "integrated bearings" is growing, and the surrounding components of the bearings have become an unavailable part of the bearings themselves. 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 worldwide 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 & Condition Monitoring
Bearing designers use sophisticated simulation software tools to better match bearing design to actual operating conditions. The computer and analysis codes used in bearing design and analysis today have reasonable engineering certainty, can predict bearing performance, life and reliability, predictability exceeds the level of ten years ago, and there is no need for expensive and time-consuming experiments or field tests. As people put higher demands on existing assets in terms of increasing output and improving 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, costly parts replacement, and safety and environmental issues. Bearing condition monitoring can dynamically monitor various equipment parameters, helping to detect failures before catastrophic failures occur. Bearing original equipment manufacturers are constantly working on the development of "smart bearings" with sensing functions. This technology enables bearings to continuously communicate their operating conditions through internally powered sensors and data collection electronics.
3. Materials & Coating
Even under harsh working conditions, advanced materials extend the service life of bearings. The bearing industry currently uses materials that were not readily 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 allow heavy equipment to operate effectively without lubricants. These materials as well as specific heat treatment conditions and geometric structures can handle extreme temperatures and processing 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 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 emissions regulatory requirements, increased safety standards, lighter products with lower friction and noise, improved reliability expectations, and fluctuations in global steel prices, R&D spending appears to be a strategic decision to lead the market. In addition, most organizations continue to focus on accurate demand forecasts and integrate digitization into manufacturing to gain global advantage.
Post time: Jul-06-2020