Ceramic Bearing Vs Hybrid Bearings

What is a hybrid ceramic bearing.

Ceramic bearing vs hybrid bearings.

They are a bit lighter than steel bearings only because of the weight difference in the balls alone. Hybrid ceramic bearings have traditional 52100 steel or stainless steel rings with ceramic silicon nitride si3n4 balls. Any application that requires higher speeds lower friction and longer life are ideal for ceramic hybrid bearings. In addition to being excellent electric insulators hybrid bearings have a higher speed capability and will provide longer service life than all steel bearings in most applications.

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. 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 bearings typically include stainless steel rings also known by some as races but maintain ceramic balls. Chris johnson managing director of precision bearing company smb bearings explains the specifications capabilities and differences of full ceramic and hybrid bearings.

Ceramic hybrid bearings are widely used in electric motors aerospace applications performance racing vehicles laboratory equipment under water applications and more. The maximum load of a full ceramic bearing is around 65 to 75 percent of the load that a steel bearing can support. Hybrid ceramic bearings have steel races and ceramic balls. Ceramic hybrid bearing applications.

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. Here chris johnson managing director of precision bearing specialist smb bearings explains the specifications capabilities and differences of full ceramic and hybrid bearings. For example while full ceramic bearings do not require lubrication hybrid bearings do. 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.

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. 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 are the equivalent of trying to run a locomotive on an asphalt road the hardness differential causes the road raceway to become damaged. Mrc hybrid ceramic ball bearings use a combination of traditional 52100 steel rings precision matched with silicon nitride ceramic balls.