Study of the Contact Characteristics of Machine Tool Spindle Bearings under Strong Asymmetric Loads and High-Temperature Lubrication Oil

The contact characteristics of angular contact ball bearings are closely related to the thermal failure of high-speed spindle systems. This paper establishes a closed-loop iterative model for analyzing the ball-race contact characteristics of machine tool spindle bearings at different combined loads and oil supply temperatures, based on a five-degree-of-freedom quasi-static analysis model and the finite difference method. Additionally, the accuracy of the proposed model is verified by comparing the measured values of temperature rise with the predicted values. Based on the verification of the accuracy of the model, the contact characteristics of machine tool spindle bearings under strong asymmetric loads and high-temperature lubrication oil are discussed in detail. The results show that at elevated temperatures, the internal loads of angular contact ball bearings operating under combined loads become concentrated, which will lead to reduced fatigue life of the bearings and even thermal seizure.

Automated summary

This paper establishes a closed-loop iterative model to analyze the contact characteristics of machine tool spindle bearings under different combined loads and oil supply temperatures, and verifies the accuracy of the model. The results show that at elevated temperatures, the internal loads of the bearings become concentrated, leading to reduced fatigue life.