Ball Bearing Calculator for CB

[GraphicMan]

Hello guys

I have gone through a side project for something I needed to create but thought to share it as it might be so handy for everyone

A 24KB flash page that I have created that can easily manage any ball bearing you might want to create
the page opens only on windows (flash) , perhaps someone might be interested to make it a script for CB,

You just input your ball diameter, number of balls and the needed clearance/preload between every ball, and it simply tells you what is the radius of the circle that the center of all balls should be on.

I find it is extremely handy

The main equation is:
Radius=Math.sin(Math.PI/180*((180-(360/BNumber))/2))*(Number(BallDiameter)+Number(Clearance))/Math.sin(Math.PI/180*(360/BNumber))

This is action script 2, Math.sin(Math.PI/180*VALUE) same as sin(VALUE), just not to be confused


please find the attached screenshot in case you could not open the page
attached also a ball bearing that I have created based on its calculations. and as you can see it turned out perfectly!

Page Link:
http://abdelrahmanhafez.com/Flash/bbc.html

now you can easily control everything you want to do about a ball bearing
On the right time I will show why I needed to create a custom size ball bearing

regards

[EddyCurrent]

Here you go then, CamBam script, unzip in the CamBam 'scripts' folder whereupon it will create a sub folder called 'Bearings' with the form image file in there.

[GraphicMan]

Good job!
but what about a button where it will draw the three circles to work with straight away?

[EddyCurrent]

That's no problem I didn't know you wanted that. Should they be centered on zero ?

[GraphicMan]

Yes I believe it is best, so that if someone did not get accurate cutting results he can quickly remachine that without the need to go back to cambam and re adjust sizes

Thank you very much:)

[EddyCurrent]

Thank you very much:)

No problem, that's what this forum is about.

[GraphicMan]

It is already the greatest forum I have ever seen in my life!
it is like heaven

[EddyCurrent]

3 circles added

[macbob]

I like this algorithm!

At first glance, I had assumed that there would be complications with the fact that the balls do not touch on the centre-line radius and that the resulting triangle to be calculated would be equilateral and not right-angled, but the two effects cancel nicely; the line through the contact points makes a nice right-angled triangle.  Cute!

[EddyCurrent]

macbob, you are correct, I had to draw it in Rhino to convince myself the ball centres touched on the chord and not the circumference line.

[macbob]

Sigh!  I would kill to have a copy of Rhino, mostly for Grasshopper, but it is way to expensive for a hobbyist.... and there you are using it to draw a couple of balls!  Ha!

 

[lloydsp]

Ok...I'm always trying to come up with uses for what I see here.  Instead, I sometimes come up with 'evil' questions...  This really isn't a criticism, because the algorithm is a good one, but it is a real question.

So... What utility has a bearing where all the balls are in intimate contact with one-another?  I don't see it.

That's just the opposite of what is intended to be done in a bearing that would have any service life at all...



LLoyd

[GraphicMan]

I like this algorithm!

At first glance, I had assumed that there would be complications with the fact that the balls do not touch on the centre-line radius and that the resulting triangle to be calculated would be equilateral and not right-angled, but the two effects cancel nicely; the line through the contact points makes a nice right-angled triangle.  Cute!

Macbob, Glad you like it

I must tell you that this took a while to understand and create and it IS very confusing at the beginning.
You still dont understand it by the way, and yes the confusion start when ou think that the ball touching point should be on the central circle circumference which wont happen ever:),

and it does not create a right angled triangle, the drawn triangle angles depend on the number of balls, If you read the instructions I wrote, notice that the radius of the central circle will be exactly equal to the diameter of the ball itself (or diameter + clearance) ONLY if the number of balls is equal to 6, this I discovered accidentally while playing with the program, but the reason for that is pretty simple, 360 degrees divided by the number of balls (6) equal 60 degrees, 60 degrees makes an equilateral triangle, so of course the triangle is not always a right angled triangle, the drawn diagram is just an example, got it?

[GraphicMan]

Ok...I'm always trying to come up with uses for what I see here.  Instead, I sometimes come up with 'evil' questions...  This really isn't a criticism, because the algorithm is a good one, but it is a real question.

So... What utility has a bearing where all the balls are in intimate contact with one-another?  I don't see it.

That's just the opposite of what is intended to be done in a bearing that would have any service life at all...



LLoyd

Good point LLoyd

first of all sometimes you really need too little or no clearance, not every ball bearing has to be used in a motor, where it spins too fast and too long making it very stupid to leave no clearance

secondly
would you leave your clearances for random?
It is critical to know it because of the covering cap

here I did a mistake and had to remove a ball, because I forgot to calculate where the connecting lines between inner and outer rings of the cap going to stay on (2 of them stayed  in between the balls and the last one stayed exactly on a ball), so I had to remove a ball.

This is a special bearing where the balls is slightly higher than its container, making it a floating ball bearing, the cap is just to stop the balls from falling off.

look at this picture, we are talking a custom size bearing now of your own:)

[GraphicMan]

3 circles added

Thanks Eddy:)