Ceramic rollers
Si₃N₄ ceramic rollers: rolling elements for fast precision bearings, plus conveyor and kiln rollers for processes up to approx. 1,200 °C.
Precision rollers made of Si₃N₄
Si₃N₄ rollers have a broad field of application in high-speed and high-precision uses — in mechanical engineering, spindles, automation, the automotive industry and the aerospace and defence sectors.
Two fields of use, one material
Ceramic rollers made of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄, also Si3N4) work in two very different places. As rolling elements — cylindrical and needle rollers — they run in bearings at high speeds with little lubrication. As conveyor and kiln rollers they carry and transport glass, ceramics, steel, wafers or solar cells through furnaces and high-temperature plants. You will find both on this page.
Key properties & benefits
- Use at extremely high speeds (> 1 million mm/min)
- High precision (< 2 µm)
- Lower friction
- Low specific weight of the rolling elements
- High wear resistance
- Operation with little or no lubrication
- Extended service life of lubricant and bearing
Material
Low density, high hardness — ideal for high-speed rolling elements.
Conveyor and kiln rollers
For high-temperature conveying we supply Si₃N₄ rollers as solid and hollow rollers, as precision rollers with tight tolerances and as special shapes made to drawing. They withstand temperatures up to approx. 1,200 °C, briefly even higher, are light (approx. 3.2 g/cm³), wear-resistant and chemically resistant. Typical uses include firing and sintering furnaces, the glass, ceramics and steel industries, semiconductor and photovoltaic production, and special furnace construction for continuous heat-treatment processes.
Typical designs
- Solid rollers for high loads and temperatures
- Hollow rollers, weight-optimised for fast processes
- Precision rollers with tight tolerances for conveying and guiding
- Special shapes made to drawing
- Cylindrical rollers for roller bearings with high load capacity
Properties for high-temperature use
- High heat resistance
- Suitable for dry running
- Chemical resistance
- High wear resistance
Fields of application
- Mechanical engineering
- Spindles
- Automation
- Automotive
- Aerospace
- Thermal process technology
- Chemical process engineering
- Pharma & food industry
- Glass industry
- Ceramics industry
- Semiconductor & photovoltaic industry
- Special furnace construction
A selection of our precision rollers
Roller blanks22 × 10 mm
Precision roller12 × 12 mm
Precision needle roller25 × 8 mm
Precision needle rollers25 × 8 mm
Precision roller8 × 8 mm
Precision rollers8 × 8 mm
Precision roller6 × 10 mm
Spellings: Si₃N₄ also Si3N4.
Reduce failures, maintenance and downtime.
Let us check together whether ceramic or hybrid solutions can lower your operating costs — with individual advice instead of a datasheet overload.