Experimental investigation of the influence of the pocket shape on the cage stability of high-precision ball bearings

The unstable motion of the cage directly affects the dynamic performance and life of high-precision ball bearings, which cause their failure or even that of the entire rotating system. The pocket shape is an important factor that determines cage stability, but research on this aspect is insufficient. Based on the ball-bearing cage stability experiment instrument, the stability of six cages with different pocket shapes was experimentally investigated. The results demonstrated that the cage with circular pockets was sensitive to changes in the working conditions, and its stability decreased significantly as the rotational speed and load increased. The stability of the cage with square pockets was better than those of the cages with combined shape pockets and non-equiangular pockets. Square pockets are considered to be the best design owing to their better stability compared to other cages.