Radial spherical plain bearings have an inner ring with a sphered convex outside surface and an outer ring with a correspondingly sphered but concave inside surface. Their design makes them particularly suitable for bearing arrangements where alignment movements between shaft and housing have to be accommodated, or where oscillating or recurrent tilting or slewing movements must be permitted at relatively slow sliding speeds. XLB radial spherical plain bearings are available with different sliding contact surface combinations，i.e. the sliding surfaces of inner and outer rings are made from different materials. There are two main groups：spherical plain bearings requiring maintenance(steel-on-steel) and maintenance-free spherical plain bearings.

XLB radial spherical plain bearings requiring maintenance(steel-on-steel) have hardened sliding contact surface on both rings. The surfaces are treated with molybdenum disulphide and phosphated. It has characteristics of wear-resistance and wear-corrosion. Bearings with this sliding contact surface combination require regular relubrication. The high strength of the sliding contact surfaces makes these bearings especially suitable for bearing arrangements where heavy loads of alternating direction, shock loads or heavy static loads have to be accommodated.

XLB maintenance-free spherical plain bearings sliding contact surfaces have three groups：steel-on-PTFE composite material ,steel-on-PTFE fabric and steel-on-copper alloy. Dynamic load support capability of steel-on-PTFE fabric spherical plain bearings is higher than that of steel-on-PTFE composite material. They have very low friction and can be operated without maintenance. They are used for applications where long bearing lives are required without maintenance, or where operating conditions，such as inadequate lubrication or the absence of lubrication make the use of steel-on-steel bearing inadvisable.

Application

Rod ends consist of an eye-shaped head with integral shank forming a housing and a standard spherical plain bearing，or a spherical plain bearing inner ring ,or a spherical plain bearing inner ring and a sliding layer between the bore of the head and the inner ring. As a rule, rod ends are available with left or right-hand female or male threads. XLB rod ends have the sliding contact surface combinations steel-on-steel、steel-on-bronze、steel-on-PTFE composite material and steel-on-PTFE fabric.

  XLB steel-on-steel and steel-on-bronze rod ends have very wear-resistant sliding surfaces and perform well under conditions of lubricant starvation. Rod ends with this sliding contact surface combination require regular relubrication. They are particularly suited for bearing arrangements where heavy alternating loads have to be accommodated.