From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Improving ball bearing cage design to prevent wear and issues under no-load conditions.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 20\7\ Scan002 | |
| Date | 1st June 1911 guessed | |
| (2) and the cast bronze cages are too slipshod and can easily be deformed, and I think a [handwritten: cage] /such as used to be fitted to [handwritten: these] Hoffmanns' (solid bronze and comparatively rigid), is a far better job because when the bearings become slightly worn, the balls are still constrained to move in the original path, and cannot choose a new path, during the period of no load, which may perhaps have a slight ridge or other irregularity formed by the wear of the race. When the race is slightly worn, it seems to me that it is quite possible for a ball (during its period of no load) to ride out of its old path on to a higher portion of the race and be held there perhaps by a little end pressure from the shaft, so that when the ball gets into the position in which it takes the load, it will take all the load by reason of it being in an unworn part of the race. For this reason, I suggest that we adopt a rigid form of cage which will keep the balls severely in their old path during the period of no load. With regard to chips or flakes of metal getting into the races, this I believe may happen occasionally with a driver who changes badly, and the only cure would appear to be to completely enclose the bearings in some way, such as by felt washers and arranging for the bear-ings to be lubricated by oil filtering through fine [at bottom left] Copy for Mr. Royce Co. Ltd. 3719 c 44 | ||