Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies boundary dimensions, tolerances, internal clearances, and other technical requirements for self-lubricating spherical plain bearings of PTFE fabric liner type. Three types of these bearings are included as below

1) self-lubricating radial spherical plain bearings only with split outer ring;

2) self-lubricating angular contact spherical plain bearings;

3) self-lubricating thrust spherical plain bearings.

Purpose

As a kind of maintenance-free bearing, self-lubricating spherical plain bearings of PTFE fabric type do not need initial oil lubrication and also not need the addition of lubricating oil during service. Due to the characteristics of oil-free lubrication and maintenance-free, these bearings are increasingly paid more and more attention by the users, and increasingly used in all kinds of industrial fields such as aerospace, wind power,high-speed trains, etc,. Driven by market demand, more and more manufacturers change their product type and increasingly produce self-lubricating spherical plain bearings of PTFE fabric liner type.But for these bearings, the product quality varies extremely from different manufacturers,and the load capacity and service life of bearings are also much different.At present,there is no unified international standard for the evaluation of bearing quality and wear life, and most users lack a reliable basis for design selection and acceptance.Therefore,it is of great significance to develop an international standard for self-lubricating spherical plain bearings of PTFE fabric liner type, which help the manufacturers and users to know the bearing specifications, inspection methods and performances. The purpose of this new proposal is that this standard can provide reliable basis on bearing design, selection and acceptance for most manufacturers,users and dealers. The preparation of this proposed standard is feasible. It is based on many years’ practice experience in China, and originated from a Chinese industry standard, JB/T 14003-2020 “Spherical plain bearing--Self-lubricating bearings of PTFE fabric liner type”.