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Working conditions such as lubrication, preload, and rotational speed have important influence on vibration and temperature rise of the spindle motor. In this study, controlled variable experiments are carried out on the silicon nitride (Si3N4) full-ceramic ball bearing and steel bearing of the same type, and the vibration signal characteristics and temperature rise of the spindle motor are tested and analysed, by changing the lubrication conditions, preloads, and rotational speeds of the spindle motor. Through the research, it is found that as the rotational speed increases, the vibration velocity of the Si3N4 full-ceramic bearing spindle motor under different preloads and lubrication conditions shows an overall increasing trend; kurtosis generally presents a downward trend and gradually flattens, indicating that although the vibration velocity increases at high speeds, the vibration signal shows a relatively stable state. As the rotational speed increases, the difference of vibration velocity under the condition of applying preload and no preload decreases, indicating that the influence of preload on the vibration of full-ceramic bearing spindle motor decreases with the increase in rotational speeds. At the same time, it is found that fr and 5fr have greater impact on the vibration of full-ceramic bearing spindle motor, where fr is the frequency of the bearing in normal operation, and 5fr is 5 times of the normal operating frequency. Lubrication conditions have little effect on the temperature rise of full-ceramic bearing spindle motor, and the temperature rise under nonlubricated conditions is even slightly lower than that under grease lubrication conditions. The research results show that the vibration velocity and temperature rise of Si3N4 full-ceramic bearing spindle motor are less than those of steel bearing with the same type, indicating that full-ceramic bearing has better performance than steel bearing under the same working conditions.

Full ceramic bearing can work under a wide range of temperatures, but the thermal deformation difference between the ceramic outer ring and steel pedestal has a great increase with the rise of temperature and leads to obvious impact and friction. In this paper, the thermal deformation difference is considered and the fit clearance is taken as the boundary condition of the dynamic model. Investigations on the dynamic response of the outer ring are conducted, and the effect of thermal-related fit clearance is analyzed at different working temperatures and rotation speeds through parametric study and experiments. Results show that the vibration of the outer ring grows with the temperature and shows different changes with rotation speed as the temperature changes. The variation of working temperature brings difference in the interactions between the outer ring and the pedestal, and the trends of vibration with rotation speed also change at different temperatures. Impact and friction make great contributions to the interactions between the outer ring and the pedestal and show different changes with temperature. This study puts forward a method for the calculation of bearing vibration at variable temperatures and provides theoretical basis for the application of the full ceramic bearings.

Ceramic angular contact ball bearing is widely used in a high-speed motorised spindle because of their excellent properties such as wear resistance, high temperature resistance, and corrosion resistance. In this study, the characteristics and influencing factors of the radiation noise for a full ceramic angular contact ball bearing applied in the motorised spindle are investigated. Based on a single factor test method, the variations of bearing noise with preload, oil supply, and rotation speed were investigated, and then, the optimal preload and oil supply under the specific speed were obtained. The sound field directivity in the circumferential distribution of the bearing noise was discussed, and the reasons for the uneven distribution of the sound field were elucidated. According to the experimental results, a prediction model on the radiation noise of a full ceramic angular contact ball bearing under certain conditions was proposed. The conclusions will provide a reference for reducing the radiation noise of full ceramic angular contact ball bearings in high-speed operation and improving the bearing performance.