Print-in-Place Parametric Roller Bearing

thingiverse

I decided it would be fun to design and print my own bearings. Credit for the design idea goes to https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2746804. This is a fully parametric roller bearing that can be customized using SOLIDWORKS and works with little to no post-processing. It is helpful to spin them some to break them in, and lubricant is optional. I've printed this bearing with the clearance set as low as 0.05 mm, and it still spins freely. tighter clearance causes the bearing to be tighter and more consistent, but may cause the bearing to spin less freely depending on your printer. Depending on how low you set your clearance value and how calibrated your printer is, you may need to put some effort into freeing up the rollers after printing. This bearing is designed to be able to handle high load with minimal play, while maintaining the ability to spin freely. In many cases, these bearings even function better than their precision-manufactured alternatives you may find at your local hardware store. I included little finger caps that fit into either end of the "bearing 3.stl" file. They are easily removable and make the bearing more comfortable to hold between your fingers if you like to fidget with it. "bearing 3.stl" is 40 mm in diameter and has a 12 mm bore in the middle. "608 bearing.stl" is a standard 608-size bearing. I will add more photos and a few files with different clearances in the near future for those who do not have access to SOLIDWORKS.