Jewel Bearings Solve
Light Load Problems
These miniature
bearings are
unsurpassed for low
breakaway friction,
long life, and
resistance to harsh
environments.
PAUL BAILLIO
Sales Manager
Bird Precision
Waltham, MA
Jewel bearings earned their reputa-
tion as reliable low-friction devices
by keeping watches and timepieces
working accurately, some for over a
century. In low-load and low-speed
applications, they remain un-
equalled as maintenance-free bear-
ings in precision analog movements
such as altimeters and guidance sys-
tems. Furthermore, advances in
crystal growing and manufacturing
now make the bearings cost-effec-
tive alternatives to conventional
bearings in selected applications.
Ruby, sapphire, and hard glass make
the best jewel bearings be-cause
they
are
hard
and
take
a
near-perfect polish, down to 1 or 2
µin. While diamond holds promise
as the ultimate jewel bearing be-
cause of its extreme hardness and
low friction, its high cost makes it
unacceptable.
Jewel bearings perform best when
loads are less than 500 g and when
constant speeds are low or momen-
tary at higher rates. Within this
realm, the bearings compete with
miniature ball bearings, flex-ural
pivots, taut-band suspensions, and a
variety of low friction materials
such as Teflon. the most com
mon jewel-bearing designs are rings
or journals, cups, Vs, balls, rollers,
and endstones.
Other features the bearings offer
are:
Low friction coeffecient. For
steel on sapphire. CÆ’ is 0.1 to 0.15.
Breakaway torque is so low that a
jewel bearing recently was used in a
mechanical torque meter sensitive
Clear sapphire, red rubies, and hard glass make ideal miniature bearings for
low-torque, low-speed and light-load applications such as compasses and
sensitive analog meters. The same machining techniques that produce the
bearings provide precision orifices for use in flame-off torches, miniature
check valves and air bearings.
enough to measure the thrust pro-
duced by a fruit fly.
High hardness. Sapphire has
a compressive strength of 300,00
psi (2,000 knoop).
High temperature stability.
Melting point is about 2,050Ëš C.
Low relative cost. Typically,
a jewel bearing costs 20% as much
as a ball bearing and 10% as much
as a flexural pivot.
Tight concentricities, to
0.0002 in. in most cases.
Small sizes for compact de-
signs. Shafts can be as small as
0.006-in, diameter, but more typi-
cally range from 0.02 to 0.125-in.
diameter.
Ring jewels
These are journal or annular bear-
ings commonly found in instru-
ments such as watches, dial indica-
tors, and gimbal suspensions.
Because of their manufacturing
method, ring jewels offer a feature
not available in conventional bear-
ings. The hole is contoured like an
hourglass or olive shaped, rather
than a straight cylindrical bore. The
advantage is reduced contact area,
hence, lower friction between shaft
and bearing.
The hourglass profile also allows a
degree of radial freedom in the bear-
ing. If the shaft becomes mis-
aligned, the hole shape prevents
binding. Also, it allows closely fit-
ting the shaft to the bearing; diame-
The simplest jewel bearing is a journal-
like ring. The hole may be cylindrical,
but rounding the sides to an hourglass
shape allows for shaft misalignment
without binding. A rounded surface on
the bearing face, called a bombé, en-
ables the bearing to handle thrust loads
as well.
Greater thrust capacity results from
mounting an endstone below or behind a
single-cup, olive-hole ring jewel. The
endstone has a radiused surface, like a
bombé, but without a center hole. This
arrangement is not suitable for shock
loading. Also, the fixed assembly must
be held in place with a retaining ring or
other device.
For shock loads, an endstone can be
spring loaded below a bombé or ring
jewel. The stepped shaft and bombe
carry thrust loads. The threaded assem-
bly is another method for securing the
jewel bearing.
MOUNTING JEWEL BEARINGS
tral clearances of 0.0002 in. or
better are possible.
V and cup bearings
These bearings are most often made
of hard glass and sapphire, which
have among the lowest friction
coefficients of all miniature bear-
ings, about 0.12 for steel-on-sap-
phire. Cup and V-bearings are used
in
sensitive
magnetic
meter
movements, compasses, encoders,
turbine flow devices, and gal-
vanometers.
The low-friction coefficient is
due largely to the moving shaft’s
near point contact on a V-bearing.
In contrast, other miniature bear-
ings use line contact. Also, glass
and sapphire deform less under
load than competing materials.
This property keeps friction and
torque nearly constant over the life
of the bearing. Wear is usually
found on the pivot or shaft rather
than the jewel. The amount of wear
usually depends on load, speed,
and shaft material.
Glass V-bearings have slightly
lower friction because their sur-
faces are fire polished. Sur-
prisingly, some compass manufac-
turers add a small drop of lubricant
to the glass V-bearing to damp
compass card oscillations, which
otherwise would continue for long
periods. A fire-polished surface
minimizes the asperities, hence, the
lubricant provides viscous damp-
ing to the shaft. This is not a prob-
lem with sapphire V-bearings,
which have microscopic, drag-pro-
ducing asperities on their lapped
surfaces.
The effects of friction producing
asperities are especially evident
when a V-bearing is used horizon-
tally. In this position, the bearing
has higher load bearing capacity.
However, the mating conical shaft
tries to roll up the surface of the V-
Other shock mounting techniques in-
clude a silicone cushion behind the
end-stone or a spring loaded ball. The
spring is used for light shock loads, and
the silicone for higher shock loading,
up to 1,000g.
Mounting a ball on a shaft allow
higher thrust loads than just a round-
ed shaft end. The silicone cushions
shock loads, and the straight-hole
ring jewel carries loads normal to the
axis.
SEEING
CLEARLY
THROUGH
SAPPHIRE
Optical-quality sapphire has five times
the resistance of carbide to scratches
and chemicals. Because it is next to
diamond in hardness (9 Mobs vs. 10
for diamond or 1,800 to 2,200 Knoop)
sapphire lenses work well on barcode
readers, watch crystals, and other
devices with moving lenses. High
strength and a moderate refractive
index also make sapphire a good
selection for high-pressure windows
and view ports.
Sapphire is unaffected by acids even at
1,0000C. It is virtually inert to all re-
agents and alkalis at room tempera-
ture, including hydrofluoric acid.
Furthermore, sapphire exhibits good
infrared transmission across a wide
spectrum of wavelengths, and is used
in infrared detectors and filters.
The mineral’s high-temperature con-
ductivity, strength, and stability make
it ideal for high-energy laser applica-
tions. Sapphire pinholes and aper-
tures typically outlast those made of
metal. The crystal’s availability and
low cost make it an excellent material
for high volume use. For example, a
1-in. diameter watch crystal costs
from $10 to $12.
bearing radius, and the shaft end
operates on the side of the cone
rather than at the point of the V.
Like the ring jewel, the V-jewel pro-
vides more radial freedom than
competing designs.
When a V-jewel is used horizon-
tally, a 0.003 to 0.005-in, clearance
must be maintained between bear-
ing and shaft. To make the adjust-
ment, fine-pitched screws are
mounted behind the bearings. In
this arrangement, turning a 100-100
(100 threads/in.) screw once, for
example, produces linear travel of
0.0 13 in. After gently tightening,
backing the screw off one-quarter
turn easily produces the clearance.
Threaded screws that work best for
adjusting end-play are the 2-80,
100-100, and 4-90 sizes.
Sizing the radii
Load-bearing capabilities and
friction are governed by V-bearing
or cup size, and cone radius. Gener-
ally, the V-radius should be three
times the radius of the pivoting
member. This allows room for the
pivot radius to wear in and conform
to the V-radius without binding.
Best performance results when
the conical V-angle is 85Ëš and the
conical pivot angle is 55Ëš. Typi-
cally, glass V-bearings with mini-
mum radius points tolerate loads to
200 mg. Larger points handle high-
er loads.
As shaft radius decreases in a
bearing, friction and load carrying
capacity also decrease. The small
contact radii produce large contact
stresses.
High hardness can be a detriment
for a jewel bearing because they can
fracture under high impact loads or
high vibration. The bearings are not
recommended for shock applica-
tions unless they are properly
mounted with a spring or silicone
pad to absorb damaging vibration.
Some examples are shown in the
box Mounting jewel bearings.
Pivot material also deserves at-
tention. Nickel chrome and 420
stainless-steel alloys are good
choices for pivot and shafts. Gener-
ally, hardness in excess of R~ 50
and surface finish of 2 to 4 µin is
recommended.
Nickel-chrome
alloys of-ten are preferred because
they are corrosion resistant, non-
magnetic, and have a hardness over
R~ 65.