| 摘要 |
A split ball assembly for a spherical bearing arrangement includes a split ball portion 12 that comprises an outer bearing surface 8, at least one separation face 11 and a smooth transition 13 between the separation face 11 and an adjacent surface. In use a plurality of split ball portions 12 are arranged to form a composite ball (figure 4) with the separation face 11 of one portion lying adjacent a separation face 11 of a neighbouring portion. The portion 12 may also include an inner surface 10 and a pair of separation faces 11 and the smooth transition 13 is preferably formed between the separation face 11 and the inner and outer surfaces 10, 8. The smooth transition 13 is preferably a radiussed edge which can either be a non constant radius or a constant radius of between 0.1 and 0.3mm. The split ball portion 12 is preferably made of titanium and coated using physical vapour deposition (PVD). |
