Deep groove ball bearings for passenger car drive shafts

How do the terms ‘labyrinth’ and ‘drive shaft’ go together? The answer lies in the new CoRX and Twin-Ax deep groove ball bearings for passenger car drive shafts from Schaeffler, which deliver durability even under extreme conditions. The highlight of these new products: two sealing rings that are smartly interconnected and make the ingress of water and contamination into the inside of the bearing impossible.

Deep groove ball bearings can be found on the drive trains of a wide range of vehicles, including front-wheel drive compact cars, limousines, small vans, and all-terrain SUVs. Many of the applications in which these bearings are used mean they are often subjected to extremely harsh conditions, where water and contamination can penetrate into the inside of the bearing and cause damage. Schaeffler is now putting an end to this with its new CoRX and Twin-Ax deep groove ball bearings for passenger car drive shafts, which are equipped with a labyrinth sealing system that keeps contamination out of the inside of the bearing. The special feature of this system is a pair of specially formed sealing rings.

Unlike the existing Seal-Slinger+Ax deep groove ball bearings, the CoRX and Twin-Ax bearings feature cassette seals. While CoRX bearings are equipped with axial and radial seals, Twin-Ax bearings feature two axial lips made from corrosion-free stainless steel. The outer sealing ring is water and dust-repellent. Both bearings have a third sealing lip with minimal interference to ensure that the lubricating grease stays inside the bearing, and it also provides improved wear protection. What is more, the frictional torque inside the bearings is minimised thanks to the optimised sealing lip contact, which means they are ideal components for high-speed drive shafts. CoRX and Twin-Ax bearings are suitable for a wide range of applications: they can be installed as both prop shaft and side shaft bearings and require no additional seals to be fitted (depending on the customer’s requirements).

Deep groove ball bearings from Schaeffler are the perfect answer to the need for low frictional torques, outstanding sealing action, and maximum resistance to tilting. This is further exemplified by the already-established Single Contact bearing. This bearing runs with particularly low friction thanks to the optimised contact between its inner and outer ring, and is ideal for integration into the drive train as a semi-locating prop shaft or side shaft bearing. An alternative to this is the 2-Point Contact bearing, which was developed by Schaeffler’s engineers with a view to providing maximum protection against tilting. Schaeffler’s product portfolio also includes the Seal-Slinger bearing, which is equipped with two sealing rings and thus delivers significantly better sealing action.