I don’t get to share much on here due to the work thing with non disclosers and waiting on patents and all that stuff. I needed a 12"od slewing ring bearing for a project, however, I couldn’t get the company I normally deal with to return my calls. So, I found another that could get me what I needed but it was a 12 week lead time (I only have 14weeks to finish the prototype that all revolves around the bearing) He did however send me the drawings…His mistake.
I modeled it up in Solidworks, tossed it into V-carve pro and made one in about 10 days.
Modeling all the parts took 4-5 hours
CAM was the pain - 18-20 hours - plus I went over everything 10x
Machine Time
Inner Ring w/Gear - 5.5 hours
Outer Ring - 4 hours
Pinion - 3 hours
Plug - 0.5 hour
When I started this I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, I thought the ball bearings would be too tight or worse, loose. I couldn’t be happier with the results or my machine.
24 Likes
Griff
(Well crap, my hypometric precursor device is blown…)
2
I’ve no idea what a slewing ring bearing is. But, I really enjoyed reading/watching your thread. Real world engineering solutions accomplished on Shapeoko’s are cool, thanks for posting.
I had to look up what a slewing ring bearing was. From an SKF Bearing Manufacturer site I found this definition.
Slewing bearings
Slewing bearings comprise an inner ring and an outer ring, one of which usually incorporates a gear. Together with attachment holes in both rings, they enable an optimized power transmission with a simple and quick connection between adjacent machine components. The bearing raceways, in conjunction with the rolling elements and cages or spacers, are designed to accommodate loads acting singly or in combination, and in any direction.
Here is a picture from that site. It looks very similar to what was made.
