(January 11, 2011)
A manufacturer of manual and computer-controlled quilting machines has used Micromech solutions to expand its various configurations for the home business market.
The company determined that a larger-capacity machine was required, resulting in it designing and developing a machine that presented several design challenges.
The first challenge was to deal with an intermittent significant radial load applied, as the needle pierces the quilt material up to 2,200 times a minute.
The motor drive was located at the rear of the machine, transferring motion to the oscillating needle and foot mechanism at the front of the machine more than 6.5cm away.
The drive required a minimum bearing life of 5,000,000 stitches; it had to be maintenance free for the life of the machine and yet still retain the sleek lines of the company's current successful machine.
Spyraflo recommended the extensive self-aligning custom bearing design experience to provide a self-aligning SAE-840 Bronze bearing solution to meet its extreme performance requirements.
Extending the outer parallel diameter and adding a second locating flange modified the self-aligning, press-fit bearing design.
The resulting design allowed 10- and 12mm-diameter bearings to be dropped into the body of the quilting machine positioned in a semi-circular nest.
The bearings were located axially by the two flanges and clamped in place by a mating semi-circular strap.
The self-aligning capability facilitated easy machine assembly and resulted in smooth shaft start-up with minimum friction.
Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
NJ322R KOYO | 110 | 240 | 50 |
NJ322 KOYO | 110 | 240 | 50 |