Spherical plain thrust bearings have sliding contact surfaces in the shaft and housing washers which are arranged at an angle to the bearing axis. They are primarily intended for axial loads although they can accommodate combined loads to a certain extent. LS spherical plain thrust bearings are available with different sliding contact surface combinations, i.e. the sliding surfaces of shaft and housing washers are made from different materials. There are two main group: steel-on-steel spherical plain thrust bearings and maintenance-free spherical plain thrust bearings.

LS steel-on-steel spherical plain thrust bearings are made of carbon chromium steel and are hardened and phosphated, the shaft and housing washers sliding contact surface are treated with molybdenum disulphide, it has characteristics of wear-resistance and wear-corrosion. Bearings with this sliding contact surface combination require regular relubrication. To facilitate efficient lubrication, housing washer have an annular groove and a lubrication hole. The high wear resistance of the sliding surfaces makes these bearings especially suitable for bearing arrangements where heavy loads of alternating direction, shock loads or heavy static loads have to be accommodated.

LS maintenance-free spherical plain thrust bearings have sliding contact surface combinations steel-on-PTFE fabric and steel-on-PTFE plastic, they have very low friction and can be operated without maintenance, any lubrication of the sliding contact surfaces will shorten bearing life. They are used for applications where long bearing lives are required without maintenance, or where operating conditions, such as inadequate lubrication or the absence of lubrication make the use of steel-on-steel bearing inadvisable. The maintenance-free bearings are primarily intended for applications where loads are heavy and have a constant direction.

Tolerances for spherical plain thrust bearings

Shaft washer and height of bearing

Housing washer

Fits of spherical plain thrust bearings

Shaft fits

Housing fits

Shaft diameter tolerances

Housing bore tolerances