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Wind

We supply our bearings and share our technical knowledge with the world’s top listed wind turbine manufacturers.

We supply our bearings and share our technical knowledge with the world’s top listed wind turbine manufacturers.

Even before the ratification of the Kyoto protocol in 1997, JTEKT already made its important contribution to the wind turbine industry by using advanced technology and knowledge to develop and manufacture reliable, state of the art bearings. We supply our bearings and share our technical knowledge with the world’s top listed wind turbine manufacturers.

A wind turbine should run for 20 years with an availability of 95-98%. During this period maintenance is needed with an approximate frequency of every 6 months. Therefore reliability is the primary driver for its design. Taken this into account we have developed bearings for several applications in a wind turbine:

  • Generators
  • Main shaft
  • Gearbox

Experience and capabilities

Products for Generators:

Our Koyo brand hybrid ceramic bearings for generators feature ceramic balls with excellent insulation performance which additionally prevents high temperatures while rotating. Compared to regular types, our hybrid ceramic bearings improve the efficiency of use; reduce the frequency of re-lubrication and of preventive maintenance.

Products for the Main shaft:

Spherical roller bearings are used primarily for the main shaft of a wind turbine because of their superior aligning characteristics and load durability. Complex analysis of rotor rotational speeds, appropriate loads, shaft, housing, rigidity and lubrication are done on a regular basis to ensure the quality of our bearings.

Products for the Gearbox

The planetary gearbox and the generator of a wind turbine transform mechanical power into electricity. The gearbox needs to increase efficiency, provide low speeds, deliver high reduction ratios, transmit a higher torque and distribute proper stress among different load-bearing components.

Bearing 3D
FAQ

What is an angular contact ball bearing?

An angular contact ball bearing uses axially asymmetric races. An axial load passes in a straight line through the bearing, whereas a radial load takes an oblique path that tends to want to separate the races axially. So the angle of contact on the inner race is the same as that on the outer race. Angular contact bearings better support "combined loads" (loading in both the radial and axial directions) and the contact angle of the bearing should be matched to the relative proportions of each. The larger the contact angle (typically in the range 10 to 45 degrees), the higher the axial load supported, but the lower the radial load. In high speed applications, such as turbines, jet engines, and dentistry equipment, the centrifugal forces generated by the balls changes the contact angle at the inner and outer race. Ceramics such as silicon nitride are now regularly used in such applications due to their low density (40% of steel). These materials significantly reduce centrifugal force and function well in high temperature environments. They also tend to wear in a similar way to bearing steel—rather than cracking or shattering like glass or porcelain.

Most bicycles use angular-contact bearings in the headsets because the forces on these bearings are in both the radial and axial direction.

For more information please click here “Products”

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