Tungsten Carbide balls are manufactured in two standard material grades of C-1 and C-2. Nickel and other special grades are quoted upon request.

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C-1, with better shock resistance than C-2, this grade is typically used as a mining grade where toughness and abrasion resistance are also important. It has also proven useful in bearing applications.

C-2 affords higher wear resistance and toughness which make this grade an excellent general purpose grade for use in pumps and valves.

Special Materials (Available upon request)

• Cobalt based alloys
• Hastelloy
• Nickel Carbides
• Stellite®
• Various Stainless Steels

About Hoover Precision Products:

Hoover Precision Products supplies precision and semi-precision balls to various industries including, automotive, aerospace, anti-friction bearings, pumps, medical, pen, paints, oil, cosmetics, jewelry and furniture.

Please click on the links to the right for more information or request a quote today!

Type 224 Tooling Balls

Industrial Tectonics Incorporated (ITI) is a precision ball and spherical products manufacturer located in Dexter, Michigan. ITI offers the superior quality of a proprietary two pieces welded construction technique that retains the high precision and fine finish of the balls at an OEM price. Many sizes are available from stock ranging in size from 1/8" to 1" in increments of 1/8" and may be shipped within 24 hours. ITI Tooling balls are made of Type 440C stainless steel hardened to Rockwell C 55-58 as well as Tungsten Carbide (TC).

Tooling balls are used for machine setups and assembly placement and are ideal as permanent components of jigs and fixtures. The precision built into ITI tooling balls assure accurate alignment of critical components in precision machining and grinding operations allowing the user to achieve exact dimensions, concentricity, and tight tolerances.

ITI is also a manufacturer of a wide range of gaging ball and stem combinations to answer special gaging problems. Balls can be any size, and the stem can be any length, diameter and shape. The variety of ball and stem combinations is available in tungsten carbide as well as 440-C stainless steel.

Type 448 Fixture Balls

Industrial Tectonics Incorporated (ITI) is a precision ball and spherical products manufacturer located in Dexter, Michigan. ITI offers the superior quality of a proprietary two pieces welded construction technique that retains the high precision and fine finish of the balls at an OEM price. Many sizes are available from stock ranging in size from 1/8" to 1" in increments of 1/8" and may be shipped within 24 hours. ITI fixture balls are made of Type 440C stainless steel hardened to Rockwell C 55-58 as well as Tungsten Carbide (TC).

Fixture balls include a reference shoulder for positive positioning and re-positioning and are used for machine setups and assembly placement and are ideal as permanent components of jigs and fixtures. The precision built into ITI fixture balls assure accurate alignment of critical components in precision machining and grinding operations allowing the user to achieve exact dimensions, concentricity, and tight tolerances.

ITI is also a manufacturer of a wide range of gaging ball and stem combinations to answer special gaging problems. Balls can be any size, and the stem can be any length, diameter and shape. The variety of ball and stem combinations is available in tungsten carbide as well as 440-C stainless steel.

• Exceptional abrasion resistance
• Prompt shipment
• Replacements and new installations
• Better performance
• Longer life

Heavy-duty Construction

• Cast body and end plate
• 0.100" (2.54mm) thick ceramic bore
• Tungsten carbide throat protection
• Heavy-duty fabricated 8-vane rotor
• Tungsten carbide rotor vane and shroud tips, 0.100" (2.54mm) thick
• Air purge seal connections
• Air gap between seals and bearings
• Outboard sealed ball bearings
• Maximum operating temperature: 350°F (175°C)

For Abrasive Applications

• Fly Ash
• Gold Ore
• Rutile Ore
• Sand
• Feldspar
• Alumina
• Kaolin Clay
• Raw Limestone
• Lignite
• Cement
• Diatomaceous Earth
• Copper Concentrate

Cost and Life Comparisons

Case History 1

Application: Rotary Feeder metering to a screw pump conveying fly ash at 60 lbs./cu.ft. against a differential of 20" H20 column.

The valve life of the FLSmidth Ceramic Design was 36 months, while the valve life of the "Brand X" - Ni-Hard Construction, was 3 to 6 months.

Case History 2

Airlock charging a 6" pneumatic conveying line handling pulverized limestone, 85 lbs./cu.ft. at a rate of 25 tph against a differential pressure of 10 psig.

The valve life of the FLSmidth Ceramic Design was 48 months, while the valve life of the "Brand X" - Ni-Hard Construction, was 2 to 6 months.

Value-added Benefits

• Reduced life cycle costs
• Increased running time/reduced downtime
• Three to four times longer life compared to other designs

Schneeberger, Inc.- announced a new line of Dry Running anti-friction precision Linear Bearings- DryRunner- that are absolutely free of organic lubricants, sulfur-containing solid lubricants such as MoS©ü or WS©ü and are also free of soft metal coating lubricants. While the running surfaces in standard linear bearings without organic lubricants are completely destroyed after only 10,000 rolling element overruns, Schneeberger DryRunner bearings run dry for more than 100 million overruns. This represents an improvement by four orders of magnitude in dry running lifetime. Lubricant-free linear bearings are desirable in applications requiring a clean environment or where periodic lubrication is not practical.

At the heart of Schneeberger DryRunner products are rails with running surfaces coated with a very hard and abrasion resistant thin film coating of tungsten carbide. This coating has an excellent adhesion to the steel surface, a low coefficient of friction against a steel counter body, and a very high resistance to surface fatigue. The rails are coated in a PVD process (physical vapor deposition) and applied under very clean and well-controlled high-vacuum conditions. Because cage creep has been identified as a serious issue with dry running linear bearings, the same cage centering technology featured in the Schneeberger Formula S Bearing is also included with DryRunner.

Cage creep occurs in cross roller type bearings that are subject to high accelerations, especially in vertical orientations with oscillatory motion. Once a cage migrates out of position, the result is reduction of travel and eventual damage as it repeatedly contacts the end piece and skids back. With the Formula S, Cage Creep is completely eliminated.

The DryRunner is available in sizes RN3, RN4, RN6, RNG4, and RNG6 (the numbers indicating the diameter of the rolling element, rollers or balls, in millimeters) and maximum lengths are available up to 900mm. Maximum speeds of 1 m/s and maximum accelerations up to 150 m/s©÷ can be reached. Operating Temperatures are from -40¡ÆC to +80¡ÆC (120¡ÆC for short intervals).

Cross roller linear bearings offer extreme smoothness and virtually zero friction in a low-profile package. Compared to recirculating type linear bearings, cross roller guides have no pulsation effect caused by the rolling elements enterting and leaving the bearing load zone. Schneeberger manufactures six types of linear bearings including the first standardized linear bearing in the world-Type R. The complete line up which includes cross roller bearings with a zero-cage-creep assist option (Formula S) and needle bearings, consists of Type R, RN, RNG, RD, N/O, and M/V.

Schneeberger Inc., one of four subsidiaries of W. Schneeberger AG, headquartered in Switzerland, markets precision linear motion components and systems for demanding applications. Products include ball and cross-roller bearings, miniature slides and rails, profile guides, automated linear and rotary modules, multi-axis positioning systems, and precision ball screws. Based in Bedford, MA, Schneeberger, Inc sells directly through regional sales offices located throughout the US. For more information, contact Schneeberger.

Lapmaster International has introduced a full line of single-side and double-side fine grinding systems for flat surfacing a variety of materials. Fine grinding combines fast material removal rates, precision tolerances, clean ground parts and easy disposal of waste. Machines are available with wheel diameters up to 1600mm. and a variety of super-abrasive wheel configurations.

Materials suited for fine grinding range from aluminum to plastic, from tungsten carbide to high alumina ceramics and silicon carbide, and from hard tool steels to stainless steels. Powdered metal parts requiring close tolerances for flatness, parallelism part to part size or surface finish are perfect candidates for the fine grinding process.

Fine grinding, may also be termed flat honing. The process incorporates kinematics present in conventional lapping; however there are extensive differences in the way material removal occurs. Fine grinding uses no abrasive slurries; in its place diamond or CBN abrasive wheels are employed in a resin or vitrified matrix. This combination of lapping motion and grinding wheel technology produces material removal rates that are five to twenty times faster than lapping, yet achieves tolerances of flatness to one light band and parallelism and part to part size to one micron.

Fine grinding surface finishes can have a ground, honed or mirror-like scratch-free reflective appearance. In many instances, normally a two step roughing and finishing operation are combined into one clean fast machining operation. Fine grinding is a batch process. Although the systems can be automated for load/unload, many shorter run parts also fit the bill for fine grinding. In-process gauging and ball screw/load cell applied and monitored down pressure assure repeatable accuracies for double side fine grinding. All machines include PLC controls for user friendly and flexible operation.