Boca Bearing Co. has expanded its existing inventory of machine tool spindle bearings and angular contact bearings in both standard and ceramic hybrid styles. Modern manufacturing calls for extremely precise and reliable machining. The company says its ceramic bearings and related products are for applications looking to increase speed, decrease temperatures and improve life.

A machine tool is a machine for shaping metal or other materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding or shearing. Machine tools use a spindle that does the cutting or shaping. All machine tools have some means of holding the work piece and provide a guided path for the parts of the machine. The company's latest bearing design delivers high spindle speeds and increased stiffness. This allows the spindle to machine more material in less time while maintaining tolerances.

Angular contact bearings are designed such that there is an angle between the races and the balls when the bearing is in operation. Angular Contact bearings are typically assembled with a thrust load or preload. The preload creates a contact angle between the inner race, the ball and the outer race. In high-speed applications, such as turbines, jet engines and dentistry equipment, the centrifugal forces generated by the balls will change the contact angle at the inner and outer race.

Boca Bearings has a full range of bearings and balls in a variety of materials such as stainless steel, alumina oxide ceramic, silicon nitride ceramic and heavy-duty plastics. Many different styles of bearings are also available, including radial deep-groove bearings, thrust bearings and angular contact bearings. Additionally, bearing configurations can often be tailored to fit each application comprising variations of materials for races, retainers and balls, as well as specialty lubrications and coatings.