Boca Bearing Company (USA; website) said it is adding to and rounding out its offerings of full ceramic ball bearings, particularly the LBT Mini Full Ceramic line.

Designed for specialty applications, Boca's LBT Full Ceramic line now covers standard and flanged ball bearings in sizes down to 3mm bore. Both metric and inch-dimension sizes are covered.

Boca said it continues to focus on its ceramic bearings because the material suits many modern low-wight, high-RPM applications and harsh operating environments, particularly where high heat or caustic materials are involved.

Although many engineers and end users consider ceramic bearings to be too esoteric for normal applications, bearings are becoming more widely available and the material has definite advantages over hardened 52100 steel in many applications.

The company notes ceramic balls (Zirconia ZrO2, or Si3N4) are lighter and have 35% less thermal expansion than steel, operate with half the thermal conductivity, and are non-corrosive. Ceramic balls are also harder than steel balls, and can offer 10x longer service life because the surface finish is smoother and can be maintained much longer. Inners and outers are normally ZrO2. Retainers are Teflon or PEEK, or no retainer with full complement bearings. A variety of seals are available, including Teflon. A wide range of fitup and lubricant options are also offered.

The LBT lineup catalog is here:

Boca LBT line catalog
Applications include cryopumps, food processing equipment, machine tools, medical devices, optics, robotics, semiconductors, and turbine flow meters.