Tolerance rings help fast-fit bearings

Mounting a precision bearing into an as machined or 'as formed' housing can pose numerous challenges, typically the required accuracy of the machined housing, differential thermal expansion of materials, misalignment and high press-in forces. The new prefitted bearing subassembly from Rencol Tolerance Rings provides the solution. A tolerance ring is fitted into a groove on the bearing outer race. The ring has a series of waves or blisters, which locate against the components to form a rigid joint and compensate for any dimensional variations. The prefitted Rencol tolerance ring brings all the benefits of the company's traditional tolerance ring, such as maintaining minimum retention forces in mating components with different thermal properties over a wide temperature range. It allows the use of 'as moulded' or 'as cast' housings without the need for expensive, tight tolerance machining operations. The low forces exerted by the ring allow for quick and easy press-fit assembly while maintaining long term bearing performance, providing a cost effective solution which eliminates a number of operations and allows for automated assembly systems. The ring design can be tuned to give each customer the optimum performance for their application, including changing the stiffness of the bearing assembly so that noise and vibration are reduced.