dc.contributor.author	Holland, Michael L.	en
dc.contributor.committeechair	Reinholtz, Charles F.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Sturges, Robert H.	en
dc.contributor.committeemember	Kasarda, Mary E. F.	en
dc.contributor.department	Mechanical Engineering	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-14T20:52:28Z	en
dc.date.adate	1998-09-02	en
dc.date.available	2014-03-14T20:52:28Z	en
dc.date.issued	1998-08-24	en
dc.date.rdate	1998-09-02	en
dc.date.sdate	1998-08-24	en
dc.description.abstract	This thesis is a treatise on optimal assembly methods for double row ball bearings. As with common single row bearings, double row ball bearings, consist of four general components, namely, an inner ring, an outer ring, a complement of balls and a cage or retainer to keep the balls separate. Unlike single row bearings, however, double row ball bearings have two complements of balls in two distinct parallel races. Although this double row configuration is desirable in a number of applications, it makes the bearings more difficult and expensive to assemble. In addition, current manual assembly procedures require a great deal of digital manipulation, leading to concern about carpal tunnel syndrome and other long-term repetitive motion injuries. This thesis attempts to develop an improved assembly process for all types of double row bearings. Although the work is intended to be general, the Torrington 5203 double row ball bearing is adopted as a specific application example. This bearing's assembly difficulties and additional cost are a result of its manual Conrad assembly method and a rubber O-ring and groove used solely for bearing assembly. In the assembly process, the O-ring supports the upper balls temporarily until the two rings can be aligned concentrically, thus snapping the balls into the bearing races. This thesis addresses the replacement of the rubber O-ring and explores opportunities for bearing assembly automation. Design synthesis of a retractable or reusable assembly component to replace the rubber O-ring supporting the upper balls during assembly is presented. A large group of design concepts are developed and evaluated, resulting in a small group of feasible designs. These feasible solutions are then tested, and a design that has the potential immediate implementation in an improved manual assembly process is proposed. In addition, two design concepts are presented as candidates for possible implementation in an automated assembly process.	en
dc.description.degree	Master of Science	en
dc.identifier.other	etd-8298-34627	en
dc.identifier.sourceurl	http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-8298-34627/	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10919/37009	en
dc.publisher	Virginia Tech	en
dc.relation.haspart	Absplus.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	ch1.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Ch2.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Ch3.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	Ch4.pdf	en
dc.relation.haspart	RefVita.pdf	en
dc.rights	In Copyright	en
dc.rights.uri	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/	en
dc.subject	Ball bearings	en
dc.subject	Assembly	en
dc.subject	Torrington	en
dc.subject	Double Row Bearings	en
dc.title	Assembly Optimization for Double Row Ball Bearings	en
dc.type	Thesis	en
thesis.degree.discipline	Mechanical Engineering	en
thesis.degree.grantor	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	en
thesis.degree.level	masters	en
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science	en

Assembly Optimization for Double Row Ball Bearings

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