Author(s)

J. Kang & M. Hadfield

Abstract

Ceramic balls are used extensively in hybrid precision bearings which show advantages in high speed, high temperature, high load and hostile environment. Surface quality generated from the final finishing processes of those balls is critical to the rolling contact fatigue performance. A brief review on the finishing process of ceramic balls is presented. The design of an experimental eccentric lapping apparatus which allows lapping of 13.4 mm diameter ceramic ball blanks at a small batch (15 balls each time) is described. Preliminary experimental investigation on the influences of the lapping load and speed, the diamond particle sizes, the different lapping fluid

Keywords