School of Engineering

Taylors University


Automation Line for Assembling Ball
Bearings

Manufacturing Engineering
MEC2713

Lam Jiang Kai
1006A79606

School of Engineering
Taylors University
Malaysia

30 June 2014



School of Engineering
Taylors University
Table of Contents

Abstract 1
1.0 Introduction 2
2.0 Discussion 4
3.0 Conclusion 10
References 10









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Abstract
Bearings have become one of the most important parts not only in our common daily lives, but as well as
in the technology and manufacturing departments. They can be applied into many industries. In order to
meet the demand of the market requirement on bearings, bearings must be mass produced with high
efficiency and high production quantity. To do this, almost every process in manufacturing bearings
involves the use of automation system. For this investigation, the focus is on the automated assembly line
of ball bearing type. The type of automated assembly system for ball bearings is determined and each of
the workstations in the assembly line is discussed briefly. In conclusion, the investigation enables student
to understand more on the production of bearings and its importance, and have a clear understanding on
automation systems.

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1.0 Introduction
The Bearing Industry
Bearings become a critical part of our everyday lives as it is the major component for almost all moving
part. The use of bearings can reduce friction to produce smooth acceleration in automotives, quiet ceiling
fans and efficient drills. Improvements in anti-friction bearing for the industry became essential in the last
century.
The bearing industry grew rapidly around 20th century due to the mass production of automobiles.
Todays bearing industry is global with production in over 70 countries.
The bearing industry supplies significant components to industries such as:
Automotive
Aerospace
Construction
Off-Highway
Railroad
Medical Instruments
Machine Tools
Energy
The current technology in bearings continues to exceed the expectations of the early pioneers and newer
types of bearings will be more essential to the advancements in the manufacturing sector.

Types of Bearings
Bearings are precision-engineered components that enable machinery to move at extremely high speeds
and carry huge loads with ease. Bearings must be precise, reliable and durable, and able to turn at high
speeds with minimum noise and vibration.
There are many different bearing types, each with different designs which are suited to specific
applications. Below are the four most common bearings:


Ball Bearings

Cylindrical & Needle
Roller Bearings

Tapered Roller Bearings

Spherical Roller Bearings



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For this investigation, only ball bearings are considered.

Ball Bearings
Below are the characteristics of ball bearings:
Rolling motion is produced by balls
Low friction, high speed and enables light to medium loading
Light and general machine applications
Ball bearings are commonly found in fans, roller blades, wheel bearings, and under hood applications on
cars.

Assembly of Ball Bearings
After some manufacturing process, a ball bearing consists of mainly the following parts before assembly:

Figure 1: Ball bearing parts.

Some other parts also include rubber seals to contain the grease.
To assemble all the parts together, an automated assembly system is used to enable high efficiency and
mass production. This is further discussed in the following section.


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2.0 Discussion
Automated Assembly Systems
The automated assembling machine used in this investigation is of multistation type and includes the use
of inline assembly and rotary/dial index tables.

Figure 2: Inline assembly.


Figure 3: Rotary index table.

Below shows the common automated machines for assembling ball bearings.

Figure 4: The automated assembly line for ball bearings.
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Workstations and their Responsibilities

1. Hopper The processed balls are placed into the hopper that selects and delivers the balls to the
automated assembly machine workstation.


2. Feeder Transfers the balls to the races through tubes.


3. Pusher Loads the correct quantity of balls into the outer and inner races that were placed on the rotary
index table.

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4. Balls divider Divides the position of the balls evenly between the races.


5. First half cage insertion Installs half of the ball cage (the half with rivet holes).


6. Second half cage insertion Installs the other half of the cage (the half with rivets).


7. Spinning tester Tests the spinning of the bearing.
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8. Rivets installer Rivets the two halves of the cage.


9. Noise vibration tester Ensures the ball bearings operate quietly.


10. Lubricating Squirts lubricator/grease evenly into the ball bearings.

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11. Seal installer Installs seal onto the bearings that contains the grease.


12. Weight tester Tests the weight of the ball bearings to ensure that they are of required weight.
Bearings that do not meet the requirements are tossed by a mechanical arm.


13. Lasering The verified bearings are marked with information by lasering.

14. Packaging and delivery Bearings that are done assembling are packed and delivered to customers
according to their requirements.


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Quality Control
Bearing production has to be very precise. Tests are carried out on samples of the steel coming to the
production plant to make sure that it has the correct compositions of metal. Hardness and toughness tests
are also carried out during the heat treating process. Besides, many inspections are done to confirm the
sizes and shapes. The outer surface of the balls and the races must be smooth.

Flowchart of the Assembly Line



Figure 5: Flowchart of the ball bearing assembly line.


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3.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, the production of bearings has to be precise, as bearings are applied in many industries. In
the production, automation systems are largely involved. For this investigation, the automated assembling
system consists of 14 stations to assemble the ball bearings. This ensures that bearings can be produced in
high efficiency and quantity to meet the industrial needs. By using the automated assembly system,
thousand of pieces of bearings can be produced in an hour. This surely brings benefits to the industry
compared to manual assembly as it takes more time and cost.
References
1. Americanbearings.org, (2014). Bearing Industry - American Bearings Manufacturers Association.
[online] Available at: http://www.americanbearings.org/?page=bearing_industry [Accessed 29 Jun.
2014].
2. Americanbearings.org, (2014). What Are Bearings? - American Bearings Manufacturers
Association. [online] Available at: http://www.americanbearings.org/?page=what_are_bearings
[Accessed 29 Jun. 2014].
3. Engineeringmotion.com, (2011). Manufacturing A Ball Bearing Assembly Engineering &
Technology Videos. [online] Available at:
http://www.engineeringmotion.com/videos/931/manufacturing-a-ball-bearing-assembly [Accessed
29 Jun. 2014].
4. Ingersollprodsys.com, (2009). Ingersoll Production Systems - Bearing Assembly Machines.
[online] Available at:
http://www.ingersollprodsys.com/Products/Automation/BearingAssemblyMachines.htm [Accessed
29 Jun. 2014].
5. Madehow.com, (2014). How ball bearing is made - manufacture, making, used, parts, dimensions,
industry, machine, Raw Materials, The Manufacturing Process of ball bearing, Quality Control.
[online] Available at: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Ball-Bearing.html [Accessed 29 Jun.
2014].
6. Slideshare.net, (2014). 8 automated assembly-systems. [online] Available at:
http://www.slideshare.net/lizard_mn/8-automated-assemblysystems [Accessed 29 Jun. 2014].