Analysis of deep groove ball bearing design for assembly

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the assembly processes for single-row ball bearings. There are two different types of assembly processes, which depend on ball numbers and ball bearing ring designs. In the case of deep groove ball bearings, assembly is usually undertaken through slight deformation of the outer ring to increase clearance for insertion of the final ball. As a result, the outer ring takes an elliptical instead of a circular shape and requires deformation to be below a critical level to avoid fracture. Causal analysis of outer ring fracture during assembly is the main goal of the presented analysis, based on the expressions of the Theory of Elasticity for the thin ring exposed to bending, as well as Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The theoretical and numerical results have been verified by experimental testing.