How to Properly Secure Bearings During & After Installation

GMN Bearing USA’s ABEC 7 high precision ball bearings are made for high speed and heavy load applications.

GMN angular contact bearings (spindle bearings) are expertly crafted for speed, precision, & accuracy.

GMN radial ball bearings are versatile, great in small spaces & when axial loads move in both directions.

We know that not every application requires super, high-precision bearings. We stock other industrial parts from quality brands.

Our one-way sprag clutches are great for applications with low to high torque capacity.

Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports HEAVY loads & has a high torque capacity: 53 to 588 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 10 to 60 mm (0.393 to 2.362 in)

Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports MEDIUM loads & low to medium torque capacity: 53 to 267 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 17 to 40 mm (0.669 to 1.57 in)

No built-in ball bearing support. Good for large orders & low to high torque needs: 1 to 2673 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 2 to 240 mm (0.078 to 9.448 in)

No built-in ball bearing support. Has no RPM limits & Supports high torque needs: 609 to 14,060 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 38.09 to 220 mm (1.499 to 8.66 in)

This heavy-duty clutch (aka a hold-back clutch) is good for high torque operations and ensures motion freezes in place. Bore (ID) sizes: 15 to 40 mm. (0.59 to 1.73 in)

Designed for HEAVY-DUTY applications that require tough durability.

Our non-contact labyrinth seals are the first line of protection for bearing systems.

The best protection for your bearing. Easy to install with a simple “drop-in” next to your bearing. No added space needed. CF seals offer 100% sealing efficiency against splashing liquids.

Protection against low contamination & splashing liquids.

Designed with grooves in the outer ring to offer more protection (than our L-type seal) against contamination and direct spray liquids. Liquid gets pushed out through outer grooves when in rotation.

Our GMN Gap Seals are plastic and a great choice for washdown applications, such as food conveyors and food manufacturing facilities

All high precision bearings must be locked in place during installation. Generally, a threading component, like a precision nut or bolt, is used.

Whatever threading method you choose, it needs to have one goal: to keep the bearings tightly mounted on the shaft when installed.

This article outlines the steps you need to take before and during installation to ensure the proper clamping force is applied to the bearing.

Before getting started, locate this information:

GMN max clamping forces for each type of bearing (our bearing catalog will help)
What amount of clamping force is needed to get proper engagement
Your application’s tolerance guide

Best Practice for Clamping & Securing Bearings

First lightly oil the precision nut or bolt threading. FYI: Thread locker is considered the same as ‘oil’ when applied to thread.

Make sure the thread isn’t 100% covered with oil before moving on to the next step.

Second, install the clamping component by hand and then use an accurate torque wrench to tighten the nut 2-3 times past the goal torque. Then back the nut off and tighten to the goal torque.

Note that the 2-3 times tightening ensures proper seating of the clamping component. This part of the procedure will make sure that if there are any thread imperfections it won’t hinder the proper clamping force.

Clamping Force

Download our PDF guide on recommended clamping forces. Please note: These torque recommendations in the table are specifically for the nuts called out in the table. If a different nut is used the torque will have to be calculated from the clamping force. These forces are based on a safety factor below the plastic deformation of the bearing race cross section of the AISI 52100 bearing material.

These numbers may seem high, but they should be used as a guide for max force, remember that a clamping force that is too low can be just as harmful to bearing life as force that’s too high.

Clamping force that is too low is defined as being close to the factory preload of the bearing (i.e. L/M/S Newton values).

Clamping Force for Proper Engagement

Each application may have its own specifics that will affect the required clamping force. Using the GMN recommended clamping forces will remove most of these variables. However, a heavy press fit, differing materials, special coatings, etc. should be taken into account.

The clamping force and clamping apparatus needs to achieve a fully seated bearing. This is the goal, but it can be achieved in various ways.

A properly seated bearing is contacting all of the mating abutments and the races are axially aligned.

Bearing Tolerance

Tolerancing of all surfaces that influence the bearings is very important.

An incorrect tolerance stack up could:

Fully seat a bearing without helping to preload it
Overload the bearing

Both of these scenarios can reduce bearing life by a lot. A thorough axial tolerance stack up is required for all applications to ensure proper bearing preload (i.e. MMC/LMC analysis).

A spring preload does allow more tolerance flexibility, but be sure to not change the target force with too large tolerance window(s).