Some Prominent Bearing Pillow Block Types and Their Uses

Bearing Pillow Block

Bearings — principally pillow block bearings — are manufactured with split housing that can be separated into a cap and a base. They have suitable bearings mounted to handle small and light loads to heavy ones on a rotating shaft. Other names for these bearings are plummer blocks or bearing housings. It is equipped with bearings that allow the axle of the shaft to be in line with the surface. 

When in operation, the block housing of a bearing pillow block can be swiftly and simply removed, altered, and mounted owing to mounting holes or slots on the base of the bearing. A pillow block bearing is made using a bearing housing and a suitable bearing unit. The majority of these types of block bearing housings have replacement bearings or insert bearings to facilitate quick interchangeability. 

Pillow block housings are frequently designed with self-aligning components to help fix angular misalignments. You can choose an appropriate bearing from the various varieties available for plummer block bearings. Some of the principal bearing types include:

• Plain Bearings

To regulate, steer, or reduce friction, plain bearings are typically employed in linear applications. Plain bearings undergo a sliding movement as opposed to the revolving movement that needle, roller, and ball bearings have. Plain bearings can be made from a variety of materials, although the most frequently used ones are bronze, plastic, and graphite-metal. The right lubricant is needed for plain pillow blocks to check friction and wear.

• Roller Bearings

Due to its ability to allow machine tools to revolve consistently and with minimal friction, roller bearings often use rollers as the rolling components. These bearings consist of a cage, rolling elements, separators, and ring raceways, both inner and outer. Cylindrical, tapered, and spherical roller bearings are a few of the popular types applied in plummer block housings.

• Ball Bearings

The rolling element in ball bearings is often a ball. These bearings are frequently chosen in rotary applications because they make rotation easy with minimal friction. The inner and outer raceway rings, rolling components, a cage, and a separator are important characteristics of a ball bearing.

Some Common Bearing Pillow Block Types

Among the most common designs for bearing housings are:

1.     Split Pillow Blocks

Split plummer block housings have an upper and a lower part to the housing body. It helps with easy maintenance and mounting of the bearing unit.

You should locate and use a suitable bearing housing of the same type if you want to change this bearing housing type, having paired housing halves. A split pillow block housing is a fantastic choice for speedy installation and maintenance due to the shafts' pre-assembled nature, which makes it simpler to inspect and service the bearings.

2. Take-up Pillow Blocks

This type of bearing pillow block is specifically preferred in applications in the belt conveyor plant to control friction brought on by drum bearing arrangements. With no split, the housing has a yoke-shaped drawbar eye to reduce friction.

Now that you are aware of this, you can select the ideal bearing pillow block variant for your application.