2011

NTN Corporation (hereafter, NTN) has developed the “System for Rolling Bearing Design Optimization” (hereafter, the system) for various types of rolling bearings, allowing optimal bearings to be automatically designed in a short period of time. The system can be used to design bearings to meet required specifications such as low-torque, compact and lightweight, while also ensuring bearings meet required characteristics such as long-life operation, rigidity and safety margins. The system can be utilized to drastically reduce the time required to complete designs after an order is received from customers.

The system takes into account the complex interactions of two bearings located on either side of a single axis, as commonly found in automobile transmissions and differential gears. It allows bearing specifications to be automatically designed to comply with a full range of usage conditions, including load, rotation speed and usage frequency of each wheel speed.

NTN has already created an optimal design system specifically for tapered roller bearings, which is being utilized for customer service. By expanding the system to cover deep groove ball bearings and angular contact ball bearings, almost all combinations of rolling bearings for automobile transmissions and differential gears can be optimally designed.

The system also allows an immense quantity of calculations and searches required to determine optimal design solutions to meet the requested specifications to be conducted in a short period of time. This means that customers can be provided with an optimum bearing much quicker.

Yet the system is not only limited to transmission and differential gears. NTN plans to utilize the system for designing other bearings for automobiles and industrial machinery as a means of further improving customer service.

Features of the System for Rolling Bearing Design Optimization

1. Allows optimal design of bearings to meet required characteristics such as requested operating life and rigidity, with the lowest torque/compact size
2. Can be used for almost all combinations of roller bearings for transmissions
3. Drastically reduces testing time required from when customers order a bearing to when the design is completed (values compared to conventional design systems)
   1/6^th the design time for deep groove ball bearings, 1/8^th the design time for angular contact ball bearings
   * The design of tapered roller bearings has already been reduced to 1/10^th the time

Application

Optimal design of rolling bearings for automobile transmissions and differential gears

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