Ceramic Bearing Vs Hybrid Bearings

Chris johnson managing director of precision bearing company smb bearings explains the specifications capabilities and differences of full ceramic and hybrid bearings.

Ceramic bearing vs hybrid bearings.

Hybrid bearings typically include stainless steel rings also known by some as races but maintain ceramic balls. Ceramic hybrid bearing applications. For example while full ceramic bearings do not require lubrication hybrid bearings do. Ceramics are primarily used in bearings due to the material s corrosion and temperature resistant properties.

They roll a bit faster than even the best steel bearings because the balls are smoother harder rounder and more uniform in size and the steel races. Hybrid ceramic bearings are the equivalent of trying to run a locomotive on an asphalt road the hardness differential causes the road raceway to become damaged. Total power saving the graph below shows how much power could be saved over 1000km between different bearing brands and their seal types. Hybrid ceramic bearings have steel races and ceramic balls.

What is a hybrid ceramic bearing. Hybrid ceramic bearings have traditional 52100 steel or stainless steel rings with ceramic silicon nitride si3n4 balls. Ceramic hybrid bearings are widely used in electric motors aerospace applications performance racing vehicles laboratory equipment under water applications and more. However although the ceramic balls will still abrade the steel rings hybrids will cope with marginal lubrication better than steel bearings due to the low friction coefficient and lightness of the balls.

Chris johnson dec 11 2018. A great way to look at the difference between hybrid ceramic bearings and full ceramic bearings for bike wheels is to look at the components that make up the bearing. The maximum load of a full ceramic bearing is around 65 to 75 percent of the load that a steel bearing can support. They are a bit lighter than steel bearings only because of the weight difference in the balls alone.

In addition to being excellent electric insulators hybrid bearings have a higher speed capability 1 2 1 5 time limit of rotations compared to steel bearing and will provide longer service life lower friction and a lower level of energy consumption than all steel bearings. Full ceramic bearings have excellent corrosion resistance and can cope with very extreme temperatures but due to the more brittle nature of ceramics the maximum speed is 20 to 25 of the all steel equivalent due to the risk of sudden failure caused by cracking at higher speeds. Any application that requires higher speeds lower friction and longer life are ideal for ceramic hybrid bearings. Mrc hybrid ceramic ball bearings use a combination of traditional 52100 steel rings precision matched with silicon nitride ceramic balls.