The RBC Roller
was developed for customers needing a high degree of assurance
of long cam follower life. It can be used to great advantage in
conveyors, automotive transfer lines or process industries-food,
beverage, plastics, glass and others. The RBC Roller is also attractive
for defense and aircraft applications, where system reliability
and maintainability are primary design goals. The internal design
and construction differ from typical needle bearing, ball bearing,
and tapered roller bearing cam followers.
The
RBC Roller design is unique and is covered by Patent 5531137.
Two paths of cylindrical rollers create stable outer ring support.
The comparatively large diameter of the rollers provides substantially
increased dynamic capacity and fatigue life. On a size by size
basis, the RBC Roller offers at least twice, and up to nine times
the fatigue life of conventional needle roller bearing cam followers.
A
center thrust ring in the RBC Roller imparts end guidance to the
two paths of rollers. Conventional needle roller bearing cam followers
rely on outer ring curvature and controlled circumferential clearance
for roller guidance. The needle rollers often skew during normal
operation, generating unnecessary heat which can lead to premature
failure. When compared to needle roller bearing cam followers,
end-guided cylindrical rollers allow the RBC Roller to run at
lower operating temperatures and higher speeds.
Thrust
loading in the RBC Roller is accommodated through contact between
outer ring flanges and roller ends, and contact between roller
ends and the center thrust ring. This provides the RBC Roller
with superior thrust capability. As a result, the RBC Roller is
tolerant of tracking misalignment and axial loads that would overwhelm
other designs.
Contacting
lip seals are a standard feature of the RBC Roller. These seals
ride on smooth ground surfaces on the inner ring or stud. This
sealing system provides positive exclusion of solid and liquid
contaminants, and excellent lubricant retention. When compared
to clearance seals typical of most cam follower designs, the RBC
Roller contacting lip seals ensure superior protection in demanding
environments.
The
RBC Roller is pre-lubricated at the factory with a high quality
mineral oil, NLGI grade 2 grease. The space between the two paths
of rollers which is created by the center thrust ring provides
a large grease storage cavity. This larger than normal ability
to store lubricant, in combination with excellent grease retention
of the contacting lip seals, makes the RBC Roller virtually maintenance-free.
Under most operating conditions relubrication is not necessary.
The
design of the RBC Roller provides the additional benefit of positive,
unitized construction. Conventional cam followers rely on swaging
or staking, particularly in yoke type configurations, to maintain
integrity of the assembly. If adequate axial clamping is not provided,
these designs can drift apart and cause catastrophic failure.
During assembly of the RBC Roller, the center thrust ring permanently
engages a circumferential groove in the stud or inner ring. This
design feature ensures integrity of the assembly during handling
and operation, and simplifies mounting design.
The
RBC Roller is available in stud and yoke type configurations.
Standard sizes range from 1 1/4 inches outside diameter to 10
inches outside diameter. The RBC Roller is dimensionally interchangeable
with standard needle roller bearing cam follower designs.
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