Custom Bearing Manufacturing Sources

Friend needs a source that can make some bearing races.... this isn’t a fantasy land project. SKF quoted 32 weeks out, lead time issue, not money.

16.625 inch OD. 15.125 inch ID 1.5 inch tall. Kaydon 19757001

kustomizingkid said:

Friend needs a source that can make some bearing races.... this isn’t a fantasy land project. SKF quoted 32 weeks out, lead time issue, not money.

16.625 inch OD. 15.125 inch ID 1.5 inch tall. Kaydon 19757001

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How many ??????? Medias ( ********* ) might have spare capacity. But they won't move for two.

16 per batch 122 total.

I've never ordered bearings from them but for smallish batch (<100 units) custom bearings my default is Napoleon Engineering Services: Bearing Inspection, Testing, Custom Bearing Manufacturing. Most larger manufacturers have insane lead times even for relatively common catalog bearings (32 weeks is typical, but I've been quoted as long as 60). I'm not sure if a bearing that large is within Napoleon's capabilities, but if it's not I'm sure they will refer you wherever they think is the next best option.

In my case we talked to them but ultimately DIY'd our bearings since we were already pretty close to a solution by the time I found out about Napoleon. But I was generally happy with the conversations and assistance Napoleon provided.

I'm not sure about the bearing design you have but I work with shop in California that has used their Hembrugs to hardturn custom bearing races. The shop is a high-end semiconductor spindle shop and their lead times are usually single-digit weeks. Drop me a PM and I can discuss further if this is a route you'd like to consider. I /think/ their Hembrugs have a large enough work envelope for those. The quantity is right in their sweet spot.

You might try HB Bearings, a custom bearing maker in England who specializes in motorsport bearings.
HB Bearings - UK Bespoke Bearing Manufacturer

I pulled my file for the last custom bearing project:

Rotek
Messinger (Kingsbury)
Liebherr

We also ended up making our own, as it was a pretty unique setup and we wanted torlon rollers

Not your intended target but thanks for the link.I need some wider than std inner rings for some transmissions I'm rebuilding for our printing presses.
The last time I needed some outer needle bearing races I had to make my own.So I bought some 52100 tubing and a Sunnen hone and made them.This time I think it would be better to farm them out.

kustomizingkid said:

Friend needs a source that can make some bearing races.... this isn’t a fantasy land project. SKF quoted 32 weeks out, lead time issue, not money.

16.625 inch OD. 15.125 inch ID 1.5 inch tall. Kaydon 19757001

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I don't understand, you gave a Kaydon number, and they say they make custom's as well:
Custom bearings, slewing ring bearings | Kaydon Bearings

Kaydon can't deliver ?

digger doug said:

I don't understand, you gave a Kaydon number, and they say they make custom's as well:
Custom bearings, slewing ring bearings | Kaydon Bearings

Kaydon can't deliver ?

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That confusled me too...

digger doug said:

I don't understand, you gave a Kaydon number, and they say they make custom's as well:
Custom bearings, slewing ring bearings | Kaydon Bearings

Kaydon can't deliver ?

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Kaydon went tits-up several years ago, looks like SKF took over the name, and he already said SKF delivery time is too long.

EmanuelGoldstein said:

Kaydon went tits-up several years ago, looks like SKF took over the name, and he already said SKF delivery time is too long.

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Huh. Didn't know Kaydon had bought the farm. Too bad, used their stuff on a few projects...

EmanuelGoldstein said:

Kaydon went tits-up several years ago, looks like SKF took over the name, and he already said SKF delivery time is too long.

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I was going to suggest "avon" bearing, but my google search showed that Kraydon bought them out.

and now SKF has bought them all out ?

Maybe some spinoff employees from Avon can do the job ?
Avon Bearings, Avon, Ohio

DanielG said:

I pulled my file for the last custom bearing project:

Rotek
Messinger (Kingsbury)
Liebherr

We also ended up making our own, as it was a pretty unique setup and we wanted torlon rollers

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That's some fancy stuff. Can you speak to what made that a requirement?

Cole2534 said:

That's some fancy stuff. Can you speak to what made that a requirement?

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Very large diameter (58" P.D. with a low load (5000lb), low speed (1/2 rpm), low duty cycle. Any standard bearing that was big enough was overkill by at least an order of magnitude. Torlon let us run dry and avoid a complicated seal arrangement to avoid FOD risk.

It was a fun bearing to build. I had the torlon centerless ground to size and then cut it to length. Downward axial load was handled by a roller thrust bearing. Radial load was handled by a roller bearing arrangement. The cages were made from 3/16 HDPE (the rollers were 1/4" diameter) and machined in sections (stuck down to a piece of mic6 with double-stick tape and cut with a downcut o-flute router bit. I then welded the section together. The thrust load was downward only, we'd only see an upward axial load during an earthquake, so I used UHMW plain bearings instead of rollers on the top of the bearing. They should never see a load and a bit of clearance was okay.

The other advantage of making our own bearing was that we could better integrate it into the structure, which made things a lot more compact.