Bearing LifeWhat an L10 rating means, and how load exponent punishes overloading.Mechanical EngineeringBearing life is a statistical rating: L10 is the life thatninety per cent of a batch reaches or exceeds.L10 = (C ÷ P)^p million rev · p = 3 ball, 10/3 rollerC = 30 kN, P = 3 kN1000 million revBall bearing, cubed.Running at 1500 rpmAbout 11100 hoursDivide by rev per hour.Double the loadLife falls eight timesCubic for balls.THE COMMON MISTAKETreating L10 as the life of your bearingIt is a ninety per cent survival figureOne in ten is expected to fail before L10. Median life is roughly five times longer,and any single bearing may fail far sooner.The basic rating ignores lubrication, contamination, misalignment andtemperature. Makers' modified life factors govern.Bearing Lifelearnposters.com
Bearing Life — printable engineering wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Bearing Life poster

The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.

The basic rating ignores lubrication, contamination, misalignment and temperature. Makers' modified life factors govern.

Questions about the Bearing Life poster

What’s on the Bearing Life poster?
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Bearing life is a statistical rating: L10 is the life that ninety per cent of a batch…; L10 = (C ÷ P)^p million rev · p = 3 ball, 10/3 roller; C = 30 kN, P = 3 kN = 1000 million rev; Running at 1500 rpm = About 11100 hours; Double the load = Life falls eight times; Common mistake: Treating L10 as the life of your bearing → It is a ninety per cent su…. The basic rating ignores lubrication, contamination, misalignment and temperature. Makers' modified life factors govern.
Who is the Bearing Life poster for?
Bearing Life belongs to the Mechanical Engineering section rather than to a school year, because engineering is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning machine design can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Bearing Life poster?
Selecting a rolling bearing, or explaining why one failed early. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Bearing Life belongs on the wall where that engineering work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Bearing Life?
Choosing a Bearing, Belt or Chain? and Bolt Preload sit alongside Bearing Life in the Mechanical Engineering section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Choosing a BearingBelt or Chain?Bolt Preload
Is the Bearing Life poster free to download and print?
Yes. Bearing Life downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Mechanical Engineering section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Bearing Life poster print at?
Bearing Life is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Bearing Life loses nothing.Printing guide

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