What is a thrust load and how does it affect bearings in a winch?

[bhsmith]

I'm in the process of designing the drum and bearings of a winch. After reading up about types of bearings etc. I am confused about what exactly a thrust load is, and if there would be any thrust load acting on either bearing in the case of a winch with a maximum load of 2000 lbs. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Travis_King]

Type "Thrust Load" into google. It is one of the major forces when discussing bearings...

 

[motoxYogi]

As far as I know a thrust load would be acting along the axis of the shaft the bearings are mounted on.
You'll most likely only be dealing with radial loads on the bearings.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Thrust load acts perpendicular to the axis of rotation in your situation. Example: a car wheel --

Going down a perfectly flat straight road, there is almost no thrust load on the axle bearings (this is radial load). Steering and going around corners create thrust load.

Is that enough to help?

 

[bhsmith]

Yes thank you very much, the car example made sense.

 

[Lsos]

I don't imagine a winch experiencing much thrust load. Nevertheless, there will always be some minimum amount. Probably you won't have to put in a bearing that specifically handles thrust loads, but you will need at least one on an axle that can handle both types. If you had bearings that ONLY handle radial load, then the winch would probably break apart (or at least its life be severely reduced) as soon as you turned it slightly on its side, for example.

 

[Studiot]

Capstan winches ie those mounted vertically may well experience substantial end bearing loads or torques.

This applies to ship mounted capstans, railway haulage capstans and even bobbins in a sewing machine / loom.