With Swage Fit conveyor bearing mounts, the roller tube diameter is generally slightly smaller than the body of the bearing. The flanged bearing is pressed mechanically or hydraulically into the tube using special tooling to “crimp” the ends tightly to the body of the bearing. Bearing styles suitable for swaging are Open Style, Adapter Style and Special Closed Style. The bearing housings are flanged. Click for profile diagrams of the various
Swage Fit Conveyor Bearing mounts. Swaging is proven to be the most secure way to unite tubes to bearings.
There are two variations to Swage Fit mountings.
- Press & Swage Fit. This method delivers the best performance results. We recommend the following guidelines for tube diameter interference:
- Commercial Unground Non-Precision Conveyor Bearings .003" to .005" with a maximum of .008". This includes our Power Swage Series.
- GenII® Semi-Precision Conveyor Bearings .003" to .030" for all models fitting in 2.5" tubes. (For smaller diameters, some tube preparation would be required for the higher interference fits.) Our IronGrip Adapter housing is the key to our ability to provide a wide interference tolerance and thus a customized fit.
- GenStar® Precision Conveyor Bearings .003" to .030" for models 5000 and 6000. (For smaller diameter models, some tube preparation would be required for the higher interference fits.) Our IronGrip Adapter housing is the key to our ability to provide a wide interference tolerance and thus a customized fit.
Using standard size & gauge tubes, costly reaming operations can be eliminated increasing the value of your FRANTZ bearing investment. Depending upon tubing wall thickness and interference fit, the flanged bearing can be either mechanically or hydraulically pressed and swaged into place. FRANTZ engineers have custom designed mechanical swage tooling and shop air assisted swage tooling to provide you with a superior fit up.
- Slip Fit and Swage. This method is a more economical approach that can be an acceptable method for assembling rollers for non-powered gravity applications. Due to the variations of tubing ID, some customers slip loose fitting commercial Non-Precision flanged bearings into rollers and swage them over the loose assembly. Costly de-burring of the tube is eliminated. FRANTZ engineers have custom designed mechanical swage tooling to provide you with a superior fit up.
Given that the quality of the bearing mount is directly proportional to the life of the conveyor bearing and its performance, FRANTZ has engineered its conveyor bearings to the style of the mount so that customers are best equipped to have a conveyor bearing that delivers optimal performance. (Click for
FRANTZ Mounting Specifications.)
Design to mount is a FRANTZ value that is unique in the marketplace. FRANTZ offers three bearing designs for use in swaging applications. Each style is a flanged conveyor bearing.
Open Style
Swage Fit mounting is recommended for Commercial Unground Non-Precision conveyor bearings designed in an “Open” style. Open style conveyor bearings generally have a single outer race pressed up closely to the housing wall. Click for a profile diagram of
Open Style conveyor bearings. Basically, the housings on these designs allow the crimp to slightly deflect the housing allowing it to mate securely inside the crimped tube.
Adapter Style
Swage Fit mounting is also recommended for “Adapter” style metal housings. FRANTZ has specially engineered
IronGrip adapter style metal housings for its GenII
® line of Semi-Precision conveyor bearings, its GenStar
® line of Precision conveyor bearings, and its Commercial Unground Non-Precision conveyor bearings in adapters for wider diameter rollers. Click for a profile diagram of
Adapter Style conveyor bearings. A strong swage fit into FRANTZ designed
IronGrip metal adapters enables conveyor bearings to carry a heavier load while needing less “seating” surface inside the tube.
Special Closed Style
Finally, FRANTZ has a solution for customers desiring to swage fit a heavier “Closed” style Commercial Unground Non-Precision conveyor bearing that is traditionally available only press fit. FRANTZ engineers have designed our
Power Swage series bearings with a tapered outer race that permits a tight swage fit over the entire body of the bearing, and carries a load of up to 425lbs. Click for a profile diagram of
Special Closed style conveyor bearings. This unique design feature is available only at FRANTZ and provides
superior results over pressing alone, and eliminates the welding of press fit bearings into tubes. Click for more information on the
Power Swage series conveyor bearing.
FRANTZ value is to offer a wide variety of Swage Fit conveyor bearing options with proper interference that will match standard tube diameters along with the tooling options to eliminate labor intensive reaming and deburring operations. Optimal swage fit up keeps your mounting tight and prevents your conveyor bearing from walking out of the tube.