High Precision and High Quality Black Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Overview of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls are a kind of high-performance ceramic bearing ball. It has the advantages of low density, high hardness, high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and good self-lubrication. It can maintain good performance in high speed, high load and harsh environments, which can effectively reduce the friction loss of bearings, improve the rotational accuracy and stability of equipment, and prolong the service life. It is widely used in aerospace, precision machine tools, high-speed trains and other fields with very high requirements on the performance of bearings.

Features of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls have the following significant features:

High hardness and strength: Silicon nitride has extremely high hardness, which is second only to diamond and a few other materials. This enables the silicon nitride bearing balls to maintain good shape and dimensional stability when subjected to high loads and not easy to deform.

Low density: The density of silicon nitride is relatively low, about 40% of steel. The lighter weight can effectively reduce the rotational inertia of the bearing, reduce energy loss and improve the operating efficiency of the equipment, especially suitable for high-speed rotating equipment, such as aviation engines, high-speed centrifuges and so on.

High-temperature performance: silicon nitride has excellent high-temperature performance and can maintain good mechanical properties and chemical stability in high-temperature environments. Its melting point is as high as 1900 ℃, which can work normally at a high temperature of several hundred degrees Celsius, greatly broadening the scope of application of bearings, such as in metallurgy, glass and other high-temperature industrial fields with excellent performance.

Good corrosion resistance: Silicon nitride has excellent corrosion resistance to most acids, alkalis and other chemical media and does not easy to be corrode and oxidize. This characteristic enables it to operate stably in corrosive working environments, such as chemical production, marine engineering and other fields, which prolongs the service life of the bearings and reduces maintenance costs.

Self-lubrication: Silicon nitride bearing balls have good self-lubrication. In some occasions where good lubrication conditions cannot be provided, the self-lubricating characteristics of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls enable them to work normally, reducing failures and damages caused by poor lubrication.

Specifications Table of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Specification	Details
Material	Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄)
Diameter	Typically ranges from 0.794mm to 50mm, with common sizes like 1.588mm, 2mm, 2.381mm, 2.7781mm, 5mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, 44.451mm, etc124
Hardness	HRC 78, with a Vickers hardness of around 2200 HV1
Density	Approximately 3.2 g/cm³, which is 40% of the density of steel1
Elastic Modulus	44% larger than that of steel1
Friction Coefficient	0.02 – 0.051
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	1/4 of that of steel1
Surface Finish	Ra can reach 4 – 6 nanometers1
Insulation Property	Electrically insulating1
Magnetic Property	Non – magnetic
Magnetic Property	Non – magnetic1
Corrosion Resistance	Excellent resistance to most acids, alkalis, and seawater1
Operating Temperature	Can work at high temperatures up to 1050°C1
Accuracy Grade	G3 – G100

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Applications of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Aerospace field: Aircraft engines need to operate at high speed, high load and high temperature; their high hardness, high strength and high-temperature resistance can ensure the bearings work stably under extreme conditions to ensure the reliability and safety of the engine.

Precision machine tools: Precision machine tools require bearings with extremely high rotational accuracy and stability. The high precision and low friction characteristics of silicon nitride bearing balls can make the spindle of machine tools realize high-speed, high-precision rotation, improve machining accuracy and surface quality, and, at the same time, reduce wear and prolong the service life of machine tools.

High-speed train field: The bearings of high-speed trains need to withstand huge loads and frequent impacts. The high strength and good impact resistance of silicon nitride bearing balls can adapt to the complex working conditions of high-speed train operation and reduce the incidence of failure to protect the safety of the train.

Electronic industry: In semiconductor manufacturing equipment, such as photolithography machines, etching machines, etc., high-precision, high-reliability bearings are needed to ensure the precise movement and positioning of the equipment. The high cleanliness, low friction and anti-corrosion properties of silicon nitride bearing balls can meet the strict requirements of the electronics industry on the accuracy and stability of the equipment and avoid the damage caused by particle contamination and corrosion on precision parts.

Medical device field: In some high-precision medical equipment, such as CT machines, centrifuges, etc., silicon nitride bearing balls can provide stable and precise rotary motion, which helps to improve the imaging precision and detection accuracy of the equipment and, at the same time, its good biocompatibility and corrosion resistance also meets the hygiene requirements of medical devices.

Company Profile

RBOSCHCO is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years of experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. The company exports to many countries, such as the USA, Canada, Europe, UAE, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Turkey, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dubai, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal etc. As a leading nanotechnology development manufacturer, RBOSCHCO dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. If you are interested, please send an email to sales1@rboschco.com

Payment Term

T/T, Western Union, Paypal, Credit Card etc.

Shipment Term

By air, by sea, by express, as customers request.

5 FAQs of Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

Q1:How is the self-lubrication of silicon nitride bearing ball?

Silicon nitride surface has natural lubricity, and the coefficient of friction is only 0.02~0.05, which is 1/5~1/3 of that of steel. In the absence of lubrication or under extreme conditions (such as vacuum or high temperature), its self-lubricating characteristics can reduce wear; for example, in the vacuum chamber of semiconductor lithography, silicon nitride bearings can realize high-precision movement without additional lubrication.

Q2: What is the life expectancy of silicon nitride-bearing balls?

Silicon nitride bearings typically last 3-5 times longer than steel bearings under the same operating conditions and up to 10 times longer under high loads or in harsh environments. For example, after 10,000 hours of continuous operation of a high-speed motor using silicon nitride bearings, there is no obvious wear on the surface, while steel bearings need to be replaced several times during this period.

Q3: Is the manufacturing process of silicon nitride-bearing balls complicated?

The manufacturing process involves powder metallurgy, isostatic pressure molding, high-temperature sintering and other precision processes. For example, the use of cold isostatic pressing technology ensures that the density of the ball blanks is uniform, and then the densification is enhanced by hot pressing and sintering (at a temperature of 1800℃ and a pressure of 250MPa), and finally, the precision grinding and polishing achieves the G3 grade accuracy (dimensional error ≤0.001mm).

Q4: What is the cost of silicon nitride bearing balls?

The initial cost is about 5-10 times that of steel balls, but the long-term overall cost is much lower. For example, in wind power equipment, the maintenance cycle of silicon nitride bearings can be extended to more than 5 years, while steel bearings need to be overhauled every year, and the overall cost can be reduced by 40%.

Q5: What are the environmental advantages of silicon nitride-bearing balls?

Silicon nitride is produced in accordance with ISO 14001 environmental management standards, and the material itself is free of heavy metal contamination and can be recycled. Its long-life characteristics also reduce waste generation. For example, after the adoption of silicon nitride bearings in a chemical plant, the number of annual bearing replacements dropped from 1,000 to 100 sets.