Hiscox item 1283 describes a vertical-shaft step bearing with a grooved shaft foot and intersecting oil passages. Explore the bearing section and calculate basic proportions from the shaft-foot diameter and groove width.
Step-Bearing Section Calculator
Enter a declared shaft-foot diameter, centre-groove width and displayed oil level. The worksheet reports section proportions only; it does not calculate oil flow, film pressure, bearing load, friction, temperature or life.
Equation Used
- The shaft foot is represented by an ideal declared diameter D.
- The groove across the centre is represented by a declared projected width g and is clipped geometrically if it exceeds D.
- The oil-level percentage changes the schematic reservoir fill. Moving tracers run at an illustrative fixed rate independent of that setting.
- The central hole, cross hole, upper sleeve feed and oil-tight packed joint identify the bearing arrangement described by Hiscox; no pressure, flow or hydrodynamic action is calculated.
- Loads, speeds, viscosities, clearances, materials beyond the source's cast-iron bearing, seals, friction, heat, wear, strength, manufacture, inspection, maintenance and safety are excluded.
The shaft-foot groove receives oil through intersecting bearing holes. Entered dimensions determine section proportions; the displayed oil and tracers do not represent calculated flow.
A grooved shaft foot receives oil through intersecting bearing holes
Hiscox item 1283 places a groove across the centre of the vertical shaft foot. A hole down the centre of the cast-iron bearing meets a cross hole from the oil well, creating the documented passage to that groove.
The sleeve-to-step joint is packed oil-tight, and oil is fed at the upper end of the sleeve. The schematic marks the oil well, bearing holes and upper sleeve feed. Its tracer motion illustrates the oil routes without calculating pressure or flow.
A historical vertical-shaft step bearing
This step bearing supports the foot of a vertical shaft and provides passages for lubrication. The section illustrates the component arrangement; bearing capacity and lubrication performance require load, speed, clearance and oil data beyond the displayed dimensions.
Declared section geometry only
These are declared drawing proportions. They do not calculate oil circulation, pump delivery, film thickness, pressure, friction, heat or bearing capacity.
Declared geometry example
For D=90 mm and g=10 mm, the declared shaft radius is 45.0 mm, groove half-width is 5.0 mm and the ungrooved projected fraction is 88.9%. A 65% oil-level setting affects only the schematic reservoir.
Section proportions and lubrication
The diameter and groove width describe the projected shaft-foot section. Their ratio does not determine oil delivery or load-carrying area, and the oil-level control only changes the illustrated reservoir fill. Flow and bearing performance are outside this model.
Oil-circulating step questions
Is item 1283 a cam-driven metering pump?
No. It is a lubricated step bearing for a vertical shaft.
Does the calculator predict oil flow?
No.
Are the entered dimensions historical?
No. They are declared values for a schematic section.
Oil-circulating step source
- Gardner D. Hiscox, Mechanical Movements, Powers, Devices and Appliances, page 317, item 1283: primary public-domain plate and caption for the grooved shaft foot, intersecting bearing holes, oil well, packed joint and upper sleeve feed.
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