Types of Cage Guidance Used in Major Bearings
Typically, stamped cages or PA66 cages are used (solid cages are used for large-sized bearings), with rolling element guidance; high-speed bearings use phenolic resin cages, with outer ring or inner ring guidance. In bearings for drive motors of new energy vehicles, the PA66 cage has been improved through design, using rolling element guidance and grease lubrication. It can now achieve bearing dmn values of 1.4×10^6 mm·r/min or even 1.8×10^6 mm·r/min at high speeds, compared to the previously recommended dmn value of only 0.6×10^6 to 1.0×10^6 mm·r/min for grease-lubricated deep groove ball bearings.
General-purpose bearings (nominal contact angle 40°) mainly use stamped cages, with rolling element guidance.
The most typical high-speed precision ball bearings:
1) Machine tool spindle bearings mostly use phenolic resin cages; large-sized bearings use solid cages, and ultra-high-speed applications sometimes use PEEK cages, with outer ring guidance;
2) Aircraft engine main shaft bearings (commonly three-point contact ball bearings) use solid cages made of aluminum bronze, silicon bronze, or alloy structural steel with silver plating on the surface, guided by the outer or inner ring.
Typically use stamped cages or PA66 cages; large-sized bearings use solid brass cages, with rolling element guidance.
As the most typical high-speed precision roller bearings:
1) Machine tool spindle bearings mostly use solid brass cages and PPS cages with rolling element guidance. In ultra-high-speed applications, PEEK cages and other types with outer ring guidance are also used;
2) Aircraft engine main shaft bearings use cages made of the same materials, surface treatments, and guidance methods as angular contact ball bearings mentioned above.
Due to the high length-to-diameter ratio of needle rollers, which makes them prone to tilting, needle roller bearings are not suitable for high-speed applications; thus, stamped cages with rolling element guidance are usually used. However, there are cases of precision solid-ring needle roller bearings for high-speed use, which employ solid cages with outer ring guidance.
General-purpose bearings use stamped cages with rolling element guidance. As a high-safety typical application, tapered roller bearings in railway axleboxes, including those in high-speed trains, generally use glass fiber reinforced PA66 cages with rolling element guidance. High-speed bearings may also use PEEK cages with rolling element guidance, or still use stamped cages with mixed guidance.
Typically use stamped cages with rolling element guidance; for large-sized or vibration-resistant bearings, solid cages or engineering plastic cages with ring guidance are used.
However, spherical roller bearings are a special case:
1) The fixed or floating flange design provides guidance to the rollers;
2) The unique curvature matching design of rollers/ raceways gives the rollers "self-guiding" functionality. These two guidance methods often offer advantages over cage guidance, so it is common to avoid or downplay descriptions of cage guidance in this type of bearing.
Due to centrifugal force throwing lubricants out from between the shaft ring and housing ring, making it difficult to retain in the raceway, thrust ball bearings are not suitable for high-speed applications. Therefore, whether using stamped cages, solid cages, or PA66 and other engineering plastic cages, they usually use rolling element guidance.
Post time: May-27-2026
