How steel balls are made

[coloradoclyde]

Ever wonder how ball bearings were made?
Here is a video showing the process in detail.
It illustrates the possible processes necessary to manufacture non-lead balls.
[youtube]19duYMdiXi0[/youtube]

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Where did it go? :idunno:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Ever wonder how ball bearings were made?

Swaged just like lead balls?

 

[Khufu]

if that much effort and inspection is involved in ball berrings, why is steel shot and simple swedged round balls so expensive?

 

[Zonie]

Remember, a ball bearing has a size tolerance in the neighborhood of one or two tenths of a thousandth of an inch. (.0001-.0002).

Its roundness or sphereosity error is measured in the millionths of an inch.

What is amazing is the companies who specialize in making these make tens of thousands of these a year.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I imagine that the swedging machine is a bit expensive....

What I found interesting was the spiral forming dies.

 

[coloradoclyde]

What is amazing is the companies who specialize in making these make tens of thousands of these a year.

It looked like their daily run would be in the 10's of thousands....