Spherical rod-end bearings are ideal for supporting rotary and linear motion in a wide variety of applications from packaging and agricultural equipment to medical and exercise machinery. However, choosing between a plastic or steel rod-end bearing often doesn’t happen because many designers are accustomed to going with steel without even considering alternatives. However, plastic and steel rod ends have their own unique set of advantages, disadvantages, and limitations.
Steel and plastic rod-end bearings exhibit different characteristics inherent to their design and materials of construction. Most steel rod-end bearings consist of three parts: a housing, a pivot bearing, and a ball bearing. A plastic rod end, however, contains only two pieces: a housing and a ball.
The configuration of the steel rod-end bearing causes it to rotate with both the shaft and ball against the housing. It compensates for angular misalignment by repositioning the ball relative to the housing. In contrast, in a plastic rod-end bearing, the shaft rotates relative to the ball. Like their steel counterparts, plastic rod ends also compensate for angular deviations by repositioning the ball within the housing. For example, plastic rod ends offered by igus Inc. are designed for rotating and linear applications where the rod end’s spherical ball needs to move slightly to compensate for shaft misalignment.
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