Big Balls Inventory

These hardened steel balls range in size from 5 to 8 1/2 inches in diameter. One of each size was produced for use in scientific research.

We can't promise you a large stock of big balls! We can custom manufacture balls of any size, any material, in any quantity, to any tolerance and give you the fastest possible delivery.

There are three basic reasons why you will find big balls increasingly difficult or impossible to buy from stock.

The first reason is that tapered roller bearings have taken over most of the applications for large ball bearings.

The second factor is that computer control of inventory has exposed the extremely high cost of stocking these slow moving items. Based on this information, manufacturers have reduced their inventory and are only producing those ball sizes where sufficient demand exists to return a normal profit.

The third reason is that grinding big balls makes a lot of noise! Some cities where ball factories are located have passed ordinances limiting noise output. This has forced some companies to stop manufacturing big balls altogether.

We custom make the blanks for our big balls on a C. N. C. spherical machining center, not by a noisy forging process. After hardening, they are ground and lapped to achieve the final quality. To reduce the noise to a minimum, we literally float the machine on rubber and sound proof each room.

Ordering Large Diameter Balls

When ordering larger diameter custom made precision balls, the time of machining will directly affect the cost. On large or giant diameter balls you must consider the following processes and tolerances that can be achieved.

Machined only: +-.005" on roundness and size.
Machined and Ground: +-.002" on roundness and size.
Machined, Ground and Polished: +-.001" on roundness and size.
Machined, Ground, Lapped and Polished: from .0001" to .000010" on roundness and or size as required.

If you require technical engineering assistance, it will be important to know what the ball is being used for, what special environmental constraints, that is, what chemical, physical or temperatures the ball may be exposed to.

Information on where and how these large balls will be shipped will be required, so we can build safe shipping containers. An 800-pound sphere can present some serious shipping problems.

Call us for a quote when your next big ball requirement comes up.