THE roller bearing has been a peacetime development, particularly since the close of World War I in 1918. Since that time it has been introduced into a multiplicity of industries that now find application on a tremendous scale on defense projects. This paper traces the introduction of tapered roller bearings into all phases of industry, manufacturing, and transportation - particularly the automotive industry, the railroad industry, steel mills, oil industry, and machine tools.
Discussing design principles, the author brings out that one of the fundamental concepts of tapered roller bearing usage is that they must be mounted in pairs and a second is that the bearings accommodate any combination of thrust and load; for high thrust reactions, the bearing is made with a steep taper. He points out that tapered roller bearings are rated in accordance with a speed factor, life factor, and application factor, explaining how each of these factors is derived.
In the remainder of the paper are discussed: lubrication, extreme-pressure lubricants, lubricant testing, types of tapered roller bearings, contact stresses in solid and hollow rollers, starting friction on railroad axles, crankshaft and crankpin application, machine-tool applications, steel rolling mill applications, and oil-well applications.