For the most part, we all know we should use bearings to prevent the axles from tearing into metal. However, many of us eliminate some bearings to minimize friction.
I was wondering, if 2 motors share a straight axle, would you need bearings at all? what happens now is that the motors act as the bearings. Would the motors alone resist wear?
If some bearings are needed, do the motors themselves need bearings? Is it sufficient to keep bearings closest to the gearing but remove the bearings on the motor. Or is it better to keep the bearings on the motors and remove the bearings by the gearing?
Has anyone tried any of the following?
assuming the motors are actually tightened in the bearings in motors are better than normal bearings
it also depends on how long the axle is and how even the two sides are
It depends upon if the shaft touches any metal along the way. The steel key shaft on the square hole is not as nice as rubbing on the delrin plastic.
If it is just air between points a and b at the motors, then the bearing block would only add friction with a new contact surface. But does that shaft move a bit and knock into the steel?
I would say it depends on the torque of the situation and how it is connected to the rest of the system. In a high torque application, I’d put the bearings in but for normal use, is not really necessary. In high torque situations the axle might bend but that’s the main problem ( causing gear slip).
I would recommend that on the flywheel, the last axle where the wheels are attached to use bearings. As stated further up on the forum if there is no bearing this will also cause friction in places of high torque and a greater amount of mass (ex. the moving wheels of the flywheel). Friction can be reduced in move effective ways than removing bearing. I found through experience that without a bearing it would cause excess movement moving the flywheel side to side in turn stalling the flywheel. Friction comes mostly in collars, gearing, metal for the base, and possibly a poor support in the end phase