Thrust Tolerant Needle Bearing

thingiverse

This is an attempt to deliver a comprehensive guide on creating 3D printable needle bearings with a unique twist.\r\nThe bearing features a "retaining rail" that incorporates a V-groove in a standard needle bearing configuration, eliminating the need for flanges or a specialized thrust solution. The V-groove serves as a thrust element, ensuring stiction is removed when a light thrust load is applied with your bearings. Otherwise, it simply provides a convenient way to keep the needles in their races.\r\n\r\nUpon analysis, you'll discover another intriguing aspect of this method: the races are compressed when a thrust load is applied. The intentional failure mode lies with the needles themselves, which are loaded in extension due to their narrow section. This means that if excessive thrust loads are applied, the pins will fail rather than experiencing hidden failures within the flange of the races.\r\n\r\nLastly, the provided information serves as a foundation for this submission. Additional models will be added as requested, but for now, I'm offering the information so anyone with a pencil or a full-fledged parametric CAD system can design their own custom bearing. The possibilities are endless, ranging from very accurate and robust configurations for high-load applications to very sloppy ones for free-running situations.