OUTLOOKProgress and Prospect of Technologies for Rolling Bearings*1
K. HAYASHIDA

H. MATSUYAMA

Rolling bearings are mechanical elements that guide the rotation while supporting the load by rolling motion ofrolling elements. They are used for supporting the rotating shaft of various industrial machines and contribute to
reduction of energy consumption and heat generation by reducing friction, suppression of wear and prevention of
seizure. Rolling bearings have been improved in reliability and high performance by the evolution of materials andtribology technology. In this report, the progress and future prospect of rolling bearing technology is described,
focusing on the birth and evolution of tapered roller bearings which has played a major role in the developmentof the automobile industry, taking examples of life improvement technology by material and heat treatment andfriction reduction technology.
Key Words: rolling bearings, tribology, material, heat treatment, friction torque, tapered roller bearings

1. Introduction
1)

Rolling bearings are mechanical elements thatguide rotation while supporting a load with the rolling
motion of components called “rolling elements”. Rolling
bearings are used for supporting the rotating shaftof various industrial machines and contribute to the
reduction of energy consumption and heat generation
through the reduction of friction, suppression of wear,
prevention of seizure, etc. Referred to in Japan as the“rice of the industry”, the rolling bearings that support
modern industrialized society have improved reliability
and high performance due to the evolution of materials
2-4)
and tribology technology . In particular, strong ties exist
between rolling bearings and automobiles, which are
indispensable to modern-day life, and it would not be anoverstatement to say that the history of technologies forrolling bearings is equivalent to the history of bearings
5-7)
used in automobiles .
This report focuses on the birth and evolution of the
1, 8, 9)which has, amongst the various
tapered roller bearing
types of rolling bearings, played a particularly majorpart in the advancement of the automotive industry, anddiscusses the progress and prospect of technologies forrolling bearings by presenting technologies to improve
life through material and heat treatment and technologies
10)
to reduce friction .

2. The Birth and Evolution of Rolling
Bearings
2. 1 The birth of rolling bearings
Since ancient times, humans have needed to carryheavy objects. Examples of rolling motion being used
to reduce friction in ancient times include the adoptionof vehicles with wheels in around 3000 BC and “rolling
sleds” in around 700 BC, wherein logs were utilized as
11)
sleds . From the late 15th century to the 16th century,
Leonardo da Vinci began research into rolling friction
and conceived the original form of modern-day rolling5)
bearings . Rolling bearings advanced notably during the11)
Industrial Revolution (around 1750 to 1850), with Valroproposing ball bearings for use in the axles of horse11)
drawn carriages in 1772 and Garnett patenting a roller
bearing for axles in 1787.
Kakuta provides a detailed review of the history of the
12)rolling bearing industry . Table 1 shows the birth anddevelopment of the rolling bearing industry preparedby referring to Kakuta’s review. A large quantity ofrolling bearings actually began being used in the late
19th century, and rolling bearing manufacturers were
established primarily in Europe and the U.S. This
coincided with the establishment of European andAmerican automotive manufacturers. The advancement inmachine tools and improvement in grinding technologiesof the Industrial Revolution made it possible to mass
produce high-accuracy bearings and this led to theirdramatic increase in popularity.

*1 This report is a reprint of the Journal of Japanese Society of
Tribologists, Vol. 61, No. 11 (2016) 734-741.

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−Progress and Prospect of Technologies for Rolling Bearings−

12)

Table 1 History of birth and development of rolling bearing industry

Social trends

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920
◆ ◆
World War 1

1930

1940
◆
◆
World War 2

1950
1960
◆Korean War

1970

1980

1990
2000
2010
2020
◆End of the Cold War◆First ◆Second oil shock ◆COP3◆Lehman Brother’scollapse◆CVCC engine◆HEV◆EV ◆FCV◆Gasoline-powered ◆Ford Model T ◆Import of U.S. cars
◆All-Japanese
automobiles
passenger vehicles●DAIMLER (Germany)●PEUGEOT (France)◆The Three Sacred Treasures (television, washing machine, refrigerator)●RENAULT (France)●MAZDA (Japan)◆Tokaido bullet train◆“Nozomi”◆N700
bullet train
Nozomi series released●OPEL (Germany)commences operation●FIAT (Italy)●FORD (U.S.)◆Apollo 11 moon landing◆H-Ⅱ rocket●NISSAN (Japan)◆Hayabusa’s
return to Earth●GM (U.S.)●TOYOTA (Japan)●HONDA (Japan)◆PC◆Internet◆IoT●MITSUBISHI (Japan)◆Tapered roller bearing (U.S.)◆Japanese tapered roller bearing (TRB) ◆High-load capacity TRB ◆Long-life TRB ◆Super-low friction torque TRB◆4-row TRB for rolling mills◆Super-high-speed ◆Sealed double-row TRB
TRB
for bullet trains◆Bearing for water pumps◆Bearing for high-speed alternators◆Hub unit◆Hub unit with built-in sensor

Bearing technology trends

Invention of tapered roller bearing (TRB)●NDH (U.S.)◆Centerless grinding machine (U.S.) Super-finishing machining method●TIMKEN (U.S.)◆Super-finishing◆Super-finishing◆Bearing for VTR
method (U.S.)
of ball bearing raceway●HOFFMANN (U.K.)◆JIS sound pressure◆Ceramic bearing●SKF (Sweden)
measurement method●FAG (Germany)◆Roller centerless grinding◆Super-finishing of roller bearings ◆High-speed ceramic bearing◆Super-high-speed ballbearing for main spindles
Extended life of Japanese-made bearing steel◆Vacuum◆Continuous casting process
degassing of steel
Life improvement technologies◆High-carbon chromium bearing steel (EU)●NSK (Japan)

Emergence of Japanese rolling
bearing manufacturers●KOYO (Japan)●NTN (Japan)●NACHI (Japan)◆High-cleanliness steel◆Carbonitriding◆Carburizing◆Hot forging◆Cold forging◆Life theory(internal point-initiated)◆Special
carburizing◆Surface-initiated flaking◆EHL theory◆Tribology

2. 2 Ball bearings
Bicycles were the driving force behind the significant
advancement in ball bearings. Initially, sliding bearings
were used in bicycles, however in 1862, a bicycle
equipped with ball bearings was invented and this issaid to have reduced bicycle friction from between
one-fifth and one-tenth as well as increased maximum
11)
speed . With the spread of ball bearings, a need arose
for the manufacture of high-accuracy, high-strength
steel balls and in 1898, HOFFMANN established asteel ball manufacturing company; making it possible tomanufacture balls with good accuracy. In the beginning of
the 20th century, HOFFMANN grew as a manufacturer ofhigh-accuracy ball bearings.

2. 3 Tapered roller bearing
Just as bicycles were the driving force behind theadvancement of ball bearings, horse-drawn carriages,
followed by automobiles, were the driving forces behind
the advancement of tapered roller bearings. Tapered roller
bearings were invented in the U.S. at the end of the 19th

18

◆Next-generation
carbonitriding◆Carbide dispersion
carburizing

Friction-reducing technology◆Reduction of sliding resistance◆Reduction of rolling resistance◆Reduction of agitating resistancecentury for use in axles of horse-drawn carriages. Theball bearings that were used in axles at the time were13)
susceptible to breakage. In 1898, TIMKEN , which was
already operating a successful carriage business, obtained
5)
a U.S. patent for an assembly comprising an integrated
axle and tapered roller bearing. This invention madeit possible to easily support the load created when the
carriage was turning or travelling on an uneven surface
at the same time as enabling adjustment of bearing wear
through the tightening of nuts at the end of the axle, hence
reducing both static and dynamic friction of the vehicle
11)
by 25 to 50% .
At the beginning of the 20th century, tapered roller
bearings began being adopted on the axles of automobiles.
The Model T Ford, which was released in 1908, mass
produced and became immensely popular, adopted thetapered roller bearing on its undercarriage. As a result of
repeated improvements to support both the large radialload and axial load created when turning a vehicle, in
13)
1924, a shape and structure of the tapered roller bearing
virtually the same as the one used today was created and

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contributed to the development of automobiles.

2. 5 Shift to domestic production of tapered roller
15)bearings and technological progress

2. 4 Evolution of Japan’s rolling bearing
technology14)

Japan’s full-scale production of tapered roller
bearings began in 1933. Around this time, there was a
rapid increase in imported cars, and a huge demand forbearings for use in repair work had emerged. Figure 1
shows a pamphlet for tapered roller bearings from thattime. A major contributing factor to this mass production
was the development of production technologies, such as
17)
the application of centerless grinders to roller grinding .
At the time, it was said that only TIMKEN was capableof producing tapered roller bearings, so this advancement
surprised and attracted the attention of not only bearing
customers but also industry in general. Around thesame time as tapered roller bearings began being madedomestically, Japan’s major automotive manufacturers
began emerging one after the next. In 1943, Japan also
18)
succeeded in the domestic production of large 4-row
tapered roller bearings for rolling mill roll necks ofdomestic steel-making equipment.
After WW2, carburizing and quenching technology
was established in 1950 and the production of thin19)
tapered roller bearings using case-hardened steel
became possible. The introduction of cold forging in 1968
enabled the production of high-load capacity tapered
20)roller bearings able to withstand high loads despite
being compact and thin. Compared to conventional hot
forging, the forging ratio was dramatically improved withcold forging, and bearings had strength, were particularly
superior in terms of toughness, and were able to be madethin enough to sufficiently respond to weight-reductionneeds. Furthermore, it became possible to omit theturning process due to being able to obtain forged partsof extremely high accuracy. Due to the improvement
in quality and productivity in accordance with thesetechnologies, it became possible to respond to issues suchas an increase in demand and extension in life of bearings
for automobiles.

From the mid-1910s, Japan’s major rolling bearing
manufacturers began establishing one after the next. This
was a period of armament expansion in accordance with
the Post-WW1 policy of increasing national prosperity
and military power however another major factor was
demand from the private sector such as an increase in
15)
the number of imported automobiles . The quality ofJapanese-made bearings at the time was not on par withthat of imported rolling bearings and this state continued
until after the Second World War.
In 1952, under the guidance of the Ministry ofInternational Trade and Industry’s Machinery Laboratory,
four major Japanese bearing manufacturers succeededin jointly developing the super-finishing machining
method and this provided the opportunity for a dramatic
improvement in the machining accuracy of Japan’srolling bearings. On a global scale, Japan was producing
rolling bearings with a surface roughness of a μm level
or less in the 1950s, a relatively early stage for the rolling
bearing field. In 1960, JIS (Japan Industrial Standard) wasestablished relating to a method for measuring the sound6)
level of rolling bearings . In this way, Japan’s rolling
bearings became increasingly low-vibration and lownoise.
Moreover, although the problem of Japanese bearings
having a shorter life than Swedish bearings was identified
from before WW2, Japan succeeded in reducing theoxygen content in steel by applying vacuum degassing
and, with the introduction of continuous casting
technology in the 1980s, high-cleanliness bearings with
16)
an oxygen content of approx. 5 ppm were realized . With
the reduction of oxide inclusions, the life of Japanesebearing steel increased by around 30 times that of
16)
atmospheric-welded steel , making it longer than the lifeof Swedish steel.

3. Life Improvement Technologies with
Material and Heat Treatment

Fig. 1 Pamphlet of tapered roller bearings15)

JTEKT ENGINEERING JOURNAL English Edition No. 1015E (2018)

The bearing ring and rolling element of rolling bearings
need to be capable of withstanding a high contact stress
up to several GPa in localized areas, therefore are required
to have sufficient strength, rolling fatigue life and thefunctions of high wear resistance, good dimensional
accuracy and so on. In order to respond to suchrequirements, selecting the right material and optimal heat
treatment are important and efforts were made including
improving the quality of general high-carbon chrome
bearing steel SUJ2, improving heat treatment methods
and conditions, applying case hardening bearing steel,etc. Damage caused by rolling fatigue is called “flaking”

19

−Progress and Prospect of Technologies for Rolling Bearings−of flaking and mechanisms 8) while Fig. 3 shows the21)
concept and countermeasures for life improvementof bearings used in clean lubricant and contaminatedlubricant containing foreign matter such as wear debris.
The below introduces life improvement technologies
for flaking initiated from surface, which has particularstringent requirements for automotive applications, suchas differential gears and transmissions.
As Fig. 2 shows, surface flaking easily occurs if
there are small, hard foreign particles contained in the
lubricant and can be considered close to abrasive wear.
As countermeasures for this type of wear, hardening thesurface and increasing the carbon content of the materialbase are effective. Flaking from dent occurs when large,
hard foreign particles become caught in the rollingface and create indentations, causing stress to become
concentrated when the rolling element travels past theraised section on the edge of the indentation. Effective
countermeasures for this mode of flaking are hardening
the surface and increasing the residual austenite(hereinafter cR).
Table 2 shows improvement technologies of rolling
21-26)
bearing life by improving material and heat treatment .
Against the above-mentioned flaking initiated from23)
surface, carbonitriding and special carburizing heat24)
treatment are able to extend life. Other technologies
proposed to further extend life are carbide dispersion
carburizing technology which enables both high surface
25)
hardness and increased c R through precipitation
strengthening of microscopic carbides (Fig. 4), and a
new carbonitriding technology to increase cR without

and the state of damage differs depending on operating
environment and conditions. Figure 2 shows the modes
Flaking in contaminated lubricant
Flaking in clean lubricant

Modes

Flaking initiated from surface
Flaking initiatedMixed flaking Flaking from dent from subsurface
Peeling
Appearance

Rolling
element

Mechanism

Abrasive wear by small Abrasive wear by small Plastic deformation
Material defect atand hard particles
hard particles, andcaused by outside
maximum shear stressplastic deformation by force or large and hardlarge particles
particles

Fig. 2 Types of flaking and mechanism8)

Extended bearing life
Clean lubricant

Contaminated lubricant

High-temperature environment
Subsurface-origin-flaking

Surface-origin-flaking

Reduction of nonMatrix
Resistance to Large compressive
metallic inclusions strengthening temper softening
residual stress

Finer Proper retained
carbideaustenite

Higherhardness

Measures by materials
Measures by heat treatment

Fig. 3 Life improvement and countermeasure by material andheat treatment21)

Table 2 Improvement technologies of rolling bearing life by improving material and heat treatment

Developed/proposed
technology

Feature(material structure-related feature)

High-cleanliness steel22)(1985)Development target

Life ratio(standard bearing ratio)
In clean In contaminatedlubricantlubricantMaterial

Heat treatment

Long-life comparable to special-welded steel
Inclusion control

Bearing steel

ThroughhardeningOver 3times

Equivalent

Carbonitriding 23)(1989)High hardness, creation of compressive
residual stress
Increased γR

Bearing steel

Carbonitriding

Over 3times

Over 6 times

Special carburizing24)(1992)High hardness
γR appropriation

Case hardening
bearing steel

Specialcarburizing

Over 2times

Over 10 times

Carbide dispersion
25)
carburizing(2004)High hardness, increased γR
Increased ﬁne precipitation

Case hardening
bearing steel

Carbidedispersion
carburizing

Over 4
times

Over 15 times

Next-generation
26)
carbonitriding(2009)High hardness, creation of compressive
residual stress
Ultra-increased γR
Increased ﬁne alloy precipitation

Bearing steel

Carbonitriding

Over 4
times

Over 8 times

20

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M 1 ：Rolling resistance between rollers and raceway
M 2 ：Sliding resistance between rib and roller ends
M 3 ：Agitating resistance of lubricant

５µm(a) Conventional carburized bearing

５µｍ(b) Developed carbide dispersion
carburized bearing

Friction torqueM 4 ：Sliding resistance between rollers and cage

＋

1

＋

3

M4

M 3 Roller

4

M2

Inner ring

Cage

2

M1

Rotational speed

150

10% Life, hour

M4

Outer ring

Fig. 4 Comparison of microstructure after heat treatment○：SUJ2 carburizing●：SUJ2 carbonitriding□：developed Steelcarburizing■：developed Steelcarbonitriding

100

Fig. 6 Friction torque of tapered roller bearing27)

LFT-Ⅰ

LFT-Ⅱ

(1983)

R(1994)

LFT-Ⅲ(2005)①Optimized
internalgeometry②Lubricating
oil flow
control③Compactness(long life heat
treatment)

Outer ring50

RollerInner ring

0

M1

M

0

20

40

60

Amount of retained c, %Friction torque ratio(vs. standard bearing)R
Specialprocessing

90％

Special crowning
profile80％20％

Fig. 5 Relationship between amount of retained c and L10 life3)

Fig. 7 Transition of low friction torque tapered roller bearing10)

reducing hardness through appropriation of alloying
26)
precipitation . As Fig. 5 shows, life is remarkably
improved by significantly increasing the c R while
maintaining hardness. These technologies can contributeto the downsizing and lightening of machine components
which make up automobiles and industrial machinery, as
well as improving the reliability of such components.

fluid lubrication is achieved, the viscous rolling resistance
between the rollers and raceway, as well as the lubricant
agitating resistance are dominant.
Reduction of bearing friction torque, or in other words,
realization of low friction torque, leads to increased
efficiency of machinery and equipment as well as reduced
energy loss, which in turn greatly contributes to reducing
environmental load. As such, achieving low friction
torque tapered roller bearings is considered equally as
important as extending bearing life, therefore manyengineers have worked to resolve this issue from down
28-39), and, as a result, the first low friction
through history
torque (LFT) tapered roller bearing was introduced on themarket over 30 years ago. Figure 7 shows the transitionand structural technologies of LFT tapered roller bearings.
For the first generation LFT tapered roller bearing
33)(LFT-Ⅰ) , the rib was subjected to special processing,then, as shown in Fig. 8, the bearing was given a profileand roughness after the surface had sufficiently been
established therefore making it possible to both reduce
contact pressure and increase lubricant film formation
performance, which ultimately resulted in reducing thesliding friction resistance between the rib and roller end
face (M2).
34)
For the second generation (LFT-Ⅱ) , by adding a
special crowning profile to the inner and outer ring
raceways, the rolling contact area between the rollers andraceway was reduced, which in turn reduces the viscous
35, 36)
caused by elasto-hydrodynamic
rolling resistance

4. Technologies for Reducing Friction
Tapered roller bearings have a large load capacity ofaround 2 to 2.5 times greater than ball bearings, whichhave the same space volume. Moreover, tapered roller
bearings are resilient against impact load and have highrigidity, making them able to support rotating axes ina more compact structure than ball bearings. For thisreason, tapered roller bearings are used in the drivetrainsystems of automobiles such as differential gears andtransmissions, as well as all types of industrial machinery,
including steel rolling mills, construction machinery andrailway carriages. However, generally-speaking, tapered
roller bearings have higher friction and generate greater
heat compared to ball bearings. Figure 6 shows the27)
causes of friction torque in tapered roller bearings . In
low-speed zones where the formation of lubricant film
is insufficient, the sliding friction resistance between thelarge inner ring rib (hereinafter “rib”) and large roller end
face (hereinafter “roller end face”) is dominant, while inhigh-speed zones where the lubricant film is formed and

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Rib

Bearing
ProfileConventional

LFT

Tapered face Special curved face

Roughness

NormalGood

Conventional bearing (before testing)

Conventional bearing (after testing)

LFT bearing (before testing)Fig. 8 Profile and roughness of inner rib face of tapered
roller bearing33)②Easy discharge of oil inside bearing
Larger contact angle①Restriction of oil inflow
Smaller cage bore diameter

Smaller number of rollers
Larger roller diameter

Specialized shape of inner rib
Oil flow

Fig. 9 Lubricating oil flow control for reduction ofagitating resistance9)(a) Conventional bearing(b) Developed bearing

Fig. 10 Observation of oil flow in tapered roller bearing39)

22

lubrication (EHL) (M1).
37-39)For the third generation (LFT-Ⅲ) , various internal
geometry was optimized compared to the second
generation, such as the number, length, diameter of therollers and contact angle. This achieved a good balance
between bearing life and rigidity and further reduced
M1. Simultaneously, lubricant was considered a bearing
structural component, and agitating resistance (M 3)
was reduced by suppressing lubricant flow, as shown in
Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Furthermore, by reducing bearing
size while maintaining life through the application of24)
the aforementioned life improving technologies , it waspossible to further reduce M1 and M3. The third generation
LFT tapered roller bearings are the same size as standard
bearings, yet are able to reduce torque by 50% (or 80% if
39)
the downsizing effect is included) , are therefore greatly
contributing to reducing environmental load throughenergy conservation of vehicles.
As discussed above, the friction reduction technologies
for tapered roller bearings area also being used for friction
40)
reduction in deep-groove ball bearings , needle roller
41)42)bearings , hub units etc. Furthermore, ball bearings areoften used with grease sealed into them, therefore low
friction torque is achieved through the reduction of grease
43)
44)
agitating resistance and seal sliding friction resistance .

5. Prospects
Moving forward, the demand for rolling bearings tocontribute to energy conservation through compactness,weight reduction and lower friction torque will continue
to intensify. It is preferable that the life improvement
technologies achieving size and weight reduction
transition from developments combining material andheat treatment, to developments primarily focused onheat treatment. In order to realize this, it is importantthat further research is made into the impact of various
alloying elements on bearing life and the associatedmechanism, as well as identifying the alloying elements
essential for improving bearing life and those alloying
3)elements that can be substituted with heat treatment .
In terms of achieving low friction torque, the key
technologies are reduction and control of friction
caused by lubricant viscosity. In order to realize this, thefollowing is essential; further reduction of lubricant, lowviscosity lubricant and the design technology to achievethis, materials effective in reducing friction, improving
wear resistance and improving anti-seizure performance,
surface improvement and texturing technologies. In
recent years, studies have been conducted to change
45)
cage profile in order to further reduce lubricant amounthowever in order to make this happen, it would benecessary to use resin for the cage and achieve good antiseizure performance. As a means of solving these issues,

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120

machinery and equipment, suppression of oil mist, noise
reduction, etc. Moreover, technology to equip sensors
and transceivers enabling the real-time monitoring of
50)
operational status for large bearings is developed, which
are extremely costly to replace, such as main spindle
bearings of wind turbines, and initiatives for the practicalrealization of such technology is advancing.

126 125 151 150
141
Q
132

121
140
133
142

152

P''
153
112
113
110

115

116

130

144 111

6. Conclusion

143

Fig. 11 Tapered roller bearing compatible with extremely
small amount lubrication46)

Oil tank

u70

Power supply (plan)

The birth of rolling bearings and progress of related
technologies, in particular Japan’s rolling bearing
technologies from post-WW2 to present-day, wasintroducing using the examples of technologies to achieve
long life and low friction in the tapered roller bearing,which has played a major role in the advancement of theautomotive industry. We hope that, through this report,
you have gained a sense that the rolling bearings of today
exist because of great effort and hardship on behalf ofour predecessors and are the backbone of modern-day
industrial society. We will continue to evolve rolling
bearings, which most people are not normally aware of,as a strong and important element in the background.

References
1)
Controller (plan)

2)
Nano-lubrication pumpNozzleFig. 12 Nano lubrication bearing with lubrication device49)

as shown in Fig. 1146) for example, a technology has been
conceived wherein the lubricant guided to the outer ringside by centrifugal force is guided to the rib, which issusceptible to seizure. This technology reduces supply
47)
lubricant by 2% and is also believed to be effective
in lowering the viscosity of lubricant. Furthermore, in
the area of general rolling bearings, it is predicted that
response to maintenance-free, IoT (Internet of Things)
and IoE (Internet of Everything) will accelerate further
due to the autonomous evolution of rolling bearings.
As one example, Fig. 12 shows the nano-lubrication
48, 49)currently under-development for the practicalbearing
realization of machine tool spindles. By having a lubricant
unit built into the bearing, it is possible to supply an
extremely small amount of lubricant when and where
necessary therefore, compared to oil/air lubrication,
which is the mainstream lubrication method for highspeed spindles, there are expectations that this will leadto simplification of the spindle structure, size reduction of

JTEKT ENGINEERING JOURNAL English Edition No. 1015E (2018)

3)

4)

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−Progress and Prospect of Technologies for Rolling Bearings−

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K. HAYASHIDA* H. MATSUYAMA*****JTEKT ENGINEERING JOURNAL English Edition No. 1015E (2018)

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