Bearing steel is the traditional raw material for manufacturing bearings. Classified by material, bearings can be divided into bearing steel bearings, stainless steel bearings, and some less commonly used ones such as aluminum alloy bearings. Bearing steel has very strict requirements on chemical composition, so bearing steel bearings have stable chemical properties, and there will be no significant differences even in mass production. Today, we will introduce what bearing steel bearings are and their performance!

I. What are Bearing Steel Bearings

In layman's terms, the steel used for making bearings is called bearing steel. Bearing steel, also known as high-carbon chromium steel, has a carbon content (Wc) of approximately 1% and a chromium content (Wcr) ranging from 0.5% to 1.65%. This type of bearing steel is further divided into six categories: high-carbon chromium bearing steel, chromium-free bearing steel, carburized bearing steel, stainless bearing steel, medium-high temperature bearing steel, and non-magnetic bearing steel.

Bearing steel is used to manufacture balls, rollers, and bearing rings. It possesses high and uniform hardness, wear resistance, and a high elastic limit. The requirements for bearing steel in terms of chemical composition uniformity, non-metallic inclusion content and distribution, and carbide distribution are extremely strict, making it one of the steel grades with the most rigorous production standards among all iron and steel products.

II. Performance Requirements for Bearing Steel

To meet the above force-bearing requirements of dynamic bearings, the following basic performance requirements are put forward for bearing steel materials:

1. High contact fatigue strength;

2. After heat treatment, it should have high hardness or hardness that meets the performance requirements of bearings in use;

3. High wear resistance and low friction coefficient;

4. High elastic limit;

5. Good impact toughness and fracture toughness;

6. Good dimensional stability;

7. Good rust resistance;

8. Good cold and hot working performance.