NKE 2218-K-M-C3 Pendelkugellager (90x160x40)

As a self-aligning ball bearing, this bearing compensates for misalignment and shaft deflection. The dynamic load rating of 54 kN characterises this bearing. The static load rating is 28.5 kN. The limiting speed is 5300 rpm. This variant features increased radial clearance (C3). What counts at this bearing position is not the clearance as delivered but the play that remains after drive-up and in warm service.

Increased clearance (C3) has a very concrete reason in this design. Self-aligning ball bearings are frequently supplied with a tapered bore and set onto a plain, unstepped shaft by way of an adapter sleeve — the method with which long shafts are built up in plummer block housings. During drive-up the inner ring is deliberately expanded, and the mounting is controlled by the clearance remaining in the process; without a sufficiently large initial play, too little of it would be left after drive-up.

If too little play remains at the end, the ball set is braced against the raceways; frictional torque and temperature rise, and the additional heat reduces the play further. The larger clearance class changes nothing about the properties of the design: the inner ring unit remains able to swivel in the outer ring, the bearing position compensates for misalignment and shaft deflection, the load rating stays tied to the low conformity of the spherical outer raceway, and axial forces are permissible only to a modest extent.

Rings and balls are made of through-hardened standard bearing steel. The open form presupposes sealing and lubricant supply by the surrounding construction. For the layout, the type of seat, the drive-up distance or fit, and the temperature profile to be expected should be assessed together. Increased radial clearance C3 — Dimensional/form-fit equivalent — verify suffix-level details for critical applications. Matching suffixes are also listed by SKF (HC5C3, HC5C3WT, C3), FAG (C3), NSK (C3), NTN (C3) and NACHI (C3).