How Computer Fan Bearings Are Made: Ball Bearings & Fluid Dynamic Bearings
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Date: 2024-01-13
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Comments and reviews: 19
cian.horgan
I don't think it's accurate to say angular contact ball bearings are just standard bearings, they're more special purpose than deep groove or other bearings for radial loads
With a circle drawn on a page, radial loads would be up and down, towards or away from the centre of the circle. These are the (main) types of loads a wheel or other rolling element would experience. Axial loads would be into and out of the page, so perpendicular to the face of the circle. Axial loads are experienced by fans where instead of trying to roll a wheel or pulley, the blades are pushing kind of sideways along the axis. They also come into play with angled gears where the angle creates a combined axial and radial force, and no load is ever purely one or the other, but substantial axial loads are not the norm
Part of the reason angular contact bearings aren't the default is because single race angular bearings only work with axial forces in one direction. Push the other way or mount the bearing wrong and it just falls apart. So more complicated double race bearings or using two back to back is usually required unless it's an extremely predictable load like a captive fan that only spins one way and never experiences decelerating forces
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I don't think it's accurate to say angular contact ball bearings are just standard bearings, they're more special purpose than deep groove or other bearings for radial loads
With a circle drawn on a page, radial loads would be up and down, towards or away from the centre of the circle. These are the (main) types of loads a wheel or other rolling element would experience. Axial loads would be into and out of the page, so perpendicular to the face of the circle. Axial loads are experienced by fans where instead of trying to roll a wheel or pulley, the blades are pushing kind of sideways along the axis. They also come into play with angled gears where the angle creates a combined axial and radial force, and no load is ever purely one or the other, but substantial axial loads are not the norm
Part of the reason angular contact bearings aren't the default is because single race angular bearings only work with axial forces in one direction. Push the other way or mount the bearing wrong and it just falls apart. So more complicated double race bearings or using two back to back is usually required unless it's an extremely predictable load like a captive fan that only spins one way and never experiences decelerating forces
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AFNacapella
say, looking at the sponsored coolers. how much does the heat exchange differ compared to blank metal and different colors
I bet it's negligable, but for the form-follows-function nerds out there... can you test this
I imagine a cooler box converted to a test stand. variabel constant heat heating element to mount the cooler on, chill everything to something stable and then watch a buttload of sensors if they spew out sensible data until equilibrium...
bc iirc you fan testing rig really only tests the fans, right I'd gladly take a pointer to where this was already discussed.
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say, looking at the sponsored coolers. how much does the heat exchange differ compared to blank metal and different colors
I bet it's negligable, but for the form-follows-function nerds out there... can you test this
I imagine a cooler box converted to a test stand. variabel constant heat heating element to mount the cooler on, chill everything to something stable and then watch a buttload of sensors if they spew out sensible data until equilibrium...
bc iirc you fan testing rig really only tests the fans, right I'd gladly take a pointer to where this was already discussed.
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user-eh2ze6jc9r
This is just a marketing word, the real fluid dynamic pressure bearings need very high precision and very small fit clearance, reasonable pressure circulation path and perfect and reliable working conditions, which have high requirements on materials, processing, lubricants.
The fan's "FDB bearing" is just a poor imitation of a real hydrodynamic bearing with wedge-shaped grooves carved into the inner bore of a soft, easy-to-machine but easily worn alloy sleeve.
If you want to know about real hydrodynamic bearings, you should disassemble HDD's spindle motor bearings.
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This is just a marketing word, the real fluid dynamic pressure bearings need very high precision and very small fit clearance, reasonable pressure circulation path and perfect and reliable working conditions, which have high requirements on materials, processing, lubricants.
The fan's "FDB bearing" is just a poor imitation of a real hydrodynamic bearing with wedge-shaped grooves carved into the inner bore of a soft, easy-to-machine but easily worn alloy sleeve.
If you want to know about real hydrodynamic bearings, you should disassemble HDD's spindle motor bearings.
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gamersnexus
Steve, as others have said already. I really want to thank you for this series.
THIS factory in particular holds my interest most. During all my time as a mechanic on an aircraft carrier, we dealt with ball bearings the most. There is nothing like packing your own ball bearings. Putting them into an oven so you can get the two races back together. LOL
I completely understand and appreciate T.P.I. not showing the FDB parts.
As for a vote/recommendation/wanting factory to see. I would like to see a heat exchanger factory. Sorry, I mean, PC sized radiator factory.
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Steve, as others have said already. I really want to thank you for this series.
THIS factory in particular holds my interest most. During all my time as a mechanic on an aircraft carrier, we dealt with ball bearings the most. There is nothing like packing your own ball bearings. Putting them into an oven so you can get the two races back together. LOL
I completely understand and appreciate T.P.I. not showing the FDB parts.
As for a vote/recommendation/wanting factory to see. I would like to see a heat exchanger factory. Sorry, I mean, PC sized radiator factory.
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todayonthebench
16:05 that bench top power supply is not what I expected.
Now it isn't "bad", as far as providing power is concerned.
I have two myself.
The noise on these units is fairly large, like a good few hundred mV, won't matter for driving/testing a fan.
Though, the thing that surprised me the most when I bought mine were how I got express air shipping from China to Europe in 2 days when the shipping were "free" on a roughly 1 kg PSU costing a measly 80 USD, so the power supply itself must be quite a bit cheaper...
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16:05 that bench top power supply is not what I expected.
Now it isn't "bad", as far as providing power is concerned.
I have two myself.
The noise on these units is fairly large, like a good few hundred mV, won't matter for driving/testing a fan.
Though, the thing that surprised me the most when I bought mine were how I got express air shipping from China to Europe in 2 days when the shipping were "free" on a roughly 1 kg PSU costing a measly 80 USD, so the power supply itself must be quite a bit cheaper...
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ae112r8
Please never stop making these videos, at least until you've toured every tech-related factory in Asia! It's always super interesting to see how these products we take for granted are made, and it gives a lot of insight into the differences between parts that may seem similar on the surface. Not to mention the quality of these videos is superior to most of the "how it's made" content I was shown in school! It would be really interesting to see a power supply factory, if that's something you ever get an opportunity to do!
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Please never stop making these videos, at least until you've toured every tech-related factory in Asia! It's always super interesting to see how these products we take for granted are made, and it gives a lot of insight into the differences between parts that may seem similar on the surface. Not to mention the quality of these videos is superior to most of the "how it's made" content I was shown in school! It would be really interesting to see a power supply factory, if that's something you ever get an opportunity to do!
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shanent5793
"Angular contact ball bearing" is never shortened to "ball bearing." A single angular contact bearing can only support axial loads in one direction, so the more specific name must be used. Substitution with the wrong type will cause immediate failure.
That fluid dynamic bearings are just "chopped" to shape is a ridiculous oversimplification of a precision machining process. Please stop adding confusing and misinformed commentary to otherwise good factory tour footage.
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"Angular contact ball bearing" is never shortened to "ball bearing." A single angular contact bearing can only support axial loads in one direction, so the more specific name must be used. Substitution with the wrong type will cause immediate failure.
That fluid dynamic bearings are just "chopped" to shape is a ridiculous oversimplification of a precision machining process. Please stop adding confusing and misinformed commentary to otherwise good factory tour footage.
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dirtbiketrailrides
This factory tour was amazing, thank you Steve and Gamers Nexus team! Impressive machines and automated QC assembly lines, ala How Its Made. There's so much unrecognized group effort to get these factories established & running, in my opinion your videos show how much of an imperative it is for Taiwan to continue being a partner of the global economy. I hope peace and stability remain in that region through this decade, for the good of all.
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This factory tour was amazing, thank you Steve and Gamers Nexus team! Impressive machines and automated QC assembly lines, ala How Its Made. There's so much unrecognized group effort to get these factories established & running, in my opinion your videos show how much of an imperative it is for Taiwan to continue being a partner of the global economy. I hope peace and stability remain in that region through this decade, for the good of all.
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dannygraves4997
Amazing to see how these things are made, and considering how many ball bearings I've destroyed over the years by jumping on them and/or throwing them around (skateboarding), it's interesting to see just how tight those tolerances really are, and it does explain why they're one of the biggest failure points.
Also, question for Steve/GN staff; any idea what the max power on that induction coil is that they use to mate the ball bearing parts
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Amazing to see how these things are made, and considering how many ball bearings I've destroyed over the years by jumping on them and/or throwing them around (skateboarding), it's interesting to see just how tight those tolerances really are, and it does explain why they're one of the biggest failure points.
Also, question for Steve/GN staff; any idea what the max power on that induction coil is that they use to mate the ball bearing parts
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TheLambeh
There’s a great deal of research in the Aerospace industry around maintenance of bearings. Surprisingly, they are not that reliable in the sense that they have a predictable lifetime but actually fail randomly even in ideal conditions. In the engineering industry we find it pointless to replace bearings on a fixed schedule but replace based on condition via vibration monitoring.
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There’s a great deal of research in the Aerospace industry around maintenance of bearings. Surprisingly, they are not that reliable in the sense that they have a predictable lifetime but actually fail randomly even in ideal conditions. In the engineering industry we find it pointless to replace bearings on a fixed schedule but replace based on condition via vibration monitoring.
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JustMe-lb8dz
Recently graduated from Mechatronic Engineering and holy, this series is amazing to watch and appreciate how other countries approach automation!!
Love the level of breakdown you give, and specifically for this episode the level of metrology they apply trough their process is just beautiful to see (never have seen something alike). Thank you for these amazing videos!!!
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Recently graduated from Mechatronic Engineering and holy, this series is amazing to watch and appreciate how other countries approach automation!!
Love the level of breakdown you give, and specifically for this episode the level of metrology they apply trough their process is just beautiful to see (never have seen something alike). Thank you for these amazing videos!!!
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gosuprime
I have more appreciation for high end case fans now, it's interesting to see how the core of a fan is made, even before the fan blades or motor comes into the picture. There are so many steps involved in putting these bearings together: they may last 50,000 hours but that's only because of the attention to detail for manufacturing shown in this video. Very cool stuff!
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I have more appreciation for high end case fans now, it's interesting to see how the core of a fan is made, even before the fan blades or motor comes into the picture. There are so many steps involved in putting these bearings together: they may last 50,000 hours but that's only because of the attention to detail for manufacturing shown in this video. Very cool stuff!
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donslevin1193
Why hasn't any one called out the use of SLEEVE bearing fans on video cards costing $800 and up You would think that above a certain price point, better ball bearing fans should be expected. Owning a card for a little over a year and then having to source a replacement (if you catch it before your card fries itself) is pretty crappy and sounds to be intentional
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Why hasn't any one called out the use of SLEEVE bearing fans on video cards costing $800 and up You would think that above a certain price point, better ball bearing fans should be expected. Owning a card for a little over a year and then having to source a replacement (if you catch it before your card fries itself) is pretty crappy and sounds to be intentional
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babananabanana9163
I really love the series, this kind of video makes me realise that theres no such thing as shit product. even a product that we categorized as shit were produced with (more or less) the same procedures.
Never thought that a "fans" line of production is this complex and complicated. Even the machines that needed to make them were mindbogglingly expensive.
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I really love the series, this kind of video makes me realise that theres no such thing as shit product. even a product that we categorized as shit were produced with (more or less) the same procedures.
Never thought that a "fans" line of production is this complex and complicated. Even the machines that needed to make them were mindbogglingly expensive.
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KevinMcKaig72
So one fun fact, the debris left over from grinding operations is called "swarf." It's usually a mix of the metal that's been removed, particles of the grinding wheel, and whatever coolant that you're using. It's a fun word for something pretty mundane. Thanks for these factory tours, I work in a factory and I enjoy seeing factories from other industries.
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So one fun fact, the debris left over from grinding operations is called "swarf." It's usually a mix of the metal that's been removed, particles of the grinding wheel, and whatever coolant that you're using. It's a fun word for something pretty mundane. Thanks for these factory tours, I work in a factory and I enjoy seeing factories from other industries.
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Swiftkitten88
i really liked this.. but i was most eager to see how fluid dynamic work and are made because i never get a really good visual or explanation of that. it seems that that info is still pretty propriety. which i guess is why i cant never get anything much more a basic description of pressurized fluid between the bearings
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i really liked this.. but i was most eager to see how fluid dynamic work and are made because i never get a really good visual or explanation of that. it seems that that info is still pretty propriety. which i guess is why i cant never get anything much more a basic description of pressurized fluid between the bearings
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CR055H41RZ
Hey, GN, do you think anyone will watch some extra content of the factory tours if you threw up some of the talking/interview aspects of the tour up to GN extras I kind of miss the old talky bits of the factory tours where you get to ask some of the less pertinent questions about the fine minutiae of manufacturing
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Hey, GN, do you think anyone will watch some extra content of the factory tours if you threw up some of the talking/interview aspects of the tour up to GN extras I kind of miss the old talky bits of the factory tours where you get to ask some of the less pertinent questions about the fine minutiae of manufacturing
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nanoflower1
Been there done that. Early one of my first jobs was making bearings. In that case it was bearings that went into automotive engines mostly. Though I also had occasion to help make the bearings for tank treads, which oddly enough had the tightest tolerances of all the bearings we made.
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Been there done that. Early one of my first jobs was making bearings. In that case it was bearings that went into automotive engines mostly. Though I also had occasion to help make the bearings for tank treads, which oddly enough had the tightest tolerances of all the bearings we made.
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Silenieux
loving these videos! keep up the amazing work the amount of work that goes into products we take for granted is insane, and this series is helping to bring all this work to light, and show the workers who put all the work into these parts who almost never get mentions...Thanks Steve.
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loving these videos! keep up the amazing work the amount of work that goes into products we take for granted is insane, and this series is helping to bring all this work to light, and show the workers who put all the work into these parts who almost never get mentions...Thanks Steve.
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