Improved Apparatus for Testing Monoball Bearings

A desk-sized apparatus for testing monoball bearings and their lubricants offers advantages, relative to prior such apparatuses, of (1) a greater degree of automation and (2) capability of operation under wider and more realistic ranges of test conditions. The ranges of attainable test conditions include load from 100 to >50,000 lb (445 to >2.22 × 105 N), resisting torque up to 30,000 lbin. (≈3,390 N-m), oscillating rotation through an angle as large as 280°, and oscillation frequency from 0 to 6 Hz. With addition of some components and without major modification of the apparatus, it is also possible to perform tests under environmental conditions that include temperature from –320 to 1,000 °F (–196 to +538 °C), relative humidity from 0 to 100 percent, and either air at ambient pressure, high vacuum, or an atmosphere of monatomic oxygen.