GGB tribological solutions move the industrial world one step closer to the future. Our products are used in tens of thousands of critical applications every day—around the planet. Our goal is to provide reliable, maintenance-free surface solutions for almost any application—no matter where those demands take our products.
GGB's diverse polymer coating solutions encompass some of the most state-of-the-art coating technologies available. Our TriboShield® product line includes seven standard formulations that cover the full spectrum of mechanical, thermal and chemical capabilities offered by today's coating materials. They can also be applied to nearly any surface, regardless of shape or material, making their potential almost endless. And when it comes to working with and enhancing the performance of your existing bearing and polymer coatings solutions, our TriboMate product line is specifically designed to be paired up— all leading to enhanced performance.
The excellent low friction and high wear resistance performance of GGB metal-polymer bearings make them ideal for hundreds of applications in numerous and diverse industries. Depending upon application requirements, metal-polymer composite bearings can be produced in many shapes and sizes.
GGB's Engineered Plastic Polymer bearings provide excellent wear resistance and low friction in both dry and lubricated operating conditions over a wide range of applications. Engineered plastic bearings are made from thermoplastic bearing material processed by injection moulding. This production method enables us to produce unlimited dimensions in accordance to our standard, and also parts with special designs and features.
GGB's Fiber Reinforced Composite products typically consists of a filament-wound, fiberglass-impregnated, epoxy backing with a variety of low-friction wear-resistant bearing linings. These self-lubricating fiber reinforced composite bearings are particularly effective in applications where the relative motion is not sufficient to promote circulation of the oil or grease used with more conventional bearings. GGB Fiber Reinforced Composite bearings are available as bushes, plates, bearing segments and special forms, depending on the particular material type.
Bimetal and metal bearings offer excellent corrosion resistance in industrial outdoor applications and in water, marine and offshore environments. GGB offers a broad range of sizes, forms and materials in monometallic and bimetallic bearings.
Engineered as a solution to conquer misalignment reduction when high demands are placed on bearings, GGB's UNI, MINI and EXALIGN® self-aligning shaft bearing assemblies offer improved equipment performance under standard bearing assemblies by reducing stress and friction. Offering superior performance in a wide variety of applications, GGB's self-aligning assemblies are available in both standard and custom configurations.
GGB has been putting the world in motion for over 120 years with industry-leading tribological bearings, coatings and assemblies. From Polymer Coatings and Metal-Polymer bearings to Fiber Reinforced Composite bearings and self-aligning shaft bearing assemblies, our solutions are specifically designed to reduce friction and optimize performance and durability.
Tribology is the science of wear, friction and lubrication, and encompasses how interacting surfaces and other tribo-elements behave in relative motion in natural and artificial systems. This includes bearing design and lubrication.
GGB’s TriboU is intended to provide the working engineer, who may or may not be a user of GGB’s surface engineered solutions, to understand and implement basic tribological concepts in the design, manufacture and use of industrial equipment.
At GGB, we aren’t afraid to take risks for our customers. We are passionate about the work we do and believe that same passion contributes to the level of innovation that can enhance human potential. We take pride in working closely with customers in the early stage of a design to think broadly and boldly, and to expand beyond traditional surface engineered solutions. We offer reliable partnerships based on trust, compassion, determination, collaboration and respect.
GGB seeks out collaborative, long-term relationships with each one of our customers. Our diverse expertise gives us a deep understanding of the challenges you face. When you partner with us early, our GGB engineering team is able to review your assemblies and make sure both the bearing and surrounding components are optimized for performance and cost-effectiveness.
What is meant by Installed ID
From a bearing design point of view, the most important dimension is the Installed ID. This is because the Installed ID controls the amount of shaft clearance and therefore the accuracy of the bearing/shaft assembly. For a given shaft diameter, if the Installed ID is too large there may be excessive shaft clearance which could result in excessive misalignment, wobble, excessive gear wear in gear trains, inability to develop a hydrodynamic film in lubricated applications, etc. If the Installed ID is too small there may be potential seizure due to frictional heat; insufficient lubrication flow to and/or through the bearing, etc.
After a sleeve bearing is pressed into its housing bore the resulting Installed ID is a function of three factors: the Housing Bore ID and the Free State OD and Free State ID of the sleeve bearing. By knowing the specific tolerances of the housing bore and sleeve bearing you can determine the range of Installed ID:
Min Installed ID = Min Bearing ID – (Max Bearing OD – Min Housing Bore)
Max Installed ID = Max Bearing ID – (Min Bearing OD – Max Housing Bore)
The above formulae are used when the sleeve bearing does not have a split (such as: GGB Fiber Reinforced Composite Bearings GAR-FIL®, GAR-MAX®, HPF®, EP® products). Sleeve bearings that do have a split (such as GGB Metal-Polymer products, DU®, DP4®, DX®, HI-EX®) are known as “wrapped” bearings or bushings.
However, the ID and OD of a wrapped bearing cannot be accurately measured because those bearings are not perfectly cylindrical and the split which is slightly open in the free state. Instead, the bearing diameters are indirectly specified by using GO and NOGO ring gages per ISO 3547 Part 2, Test B (or, alternatively, the centerline checking method per ISO 3547 Part 2, Test A) for the OD and then using the wall thickness tolerance per ISO 3547 Part 2, alternative Test C. In the case of a wrapped bearing you can determine the range of Installed ID by using the specified housing bore and wall thickness ranges:
Min Installed ID = Min Housing Bore – 2 x (Max Wall Thickness)
Max Installed ID = Max Housing Bore – 2 x (Min Wall Thickness)
As noted before, the Free State ID can only be measured in sleeve bearings that do not have a split. The Free State ID is larger than the Installed ID to compensate for the interference fit between the Free State Bearing OD and the Housing Bore.
The Free State ID cannot be defined for wrapped sleeve bearings because the bearing is not perfectly cylindrical and the split is slightly open in the free state. The diameters of wrapped sleeve bearings are specified in ISO 3547-2 which is explained in the GGB DU®/DU-B Handbook.
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