Schaeffler shows machine-tool bearings and drives at AMB 2026
At AMB 2026 in Stuttgart, Schaeffler presents bearing and drive solutions for machine tool axes — from hybrid spindle bearings to linear motors.
- Up to 50% lower vs. current benchmark
- Up to 40% higher vs. current benchmark
- 10–50 mm
- 8
What Happened
At AMB 2026 in Stuttgart, Schaeffler is presenting a broad portfolio of bearing and drive solutions for machine tools at Hall 6, Booth C42, under the motto 'Innovation across every axis.' The Motion Technology Company's exhibit covers tool, workpiece, and feed axes, from the spindle to the peripherals of the machines. It also highlights rotary axis bearings with integrated gear teeth and monorail guidance systems for automation.
“The world of machine tools is undergoing transformation. More than ever, customers are now looking for solutions that not only work precisely and reliably under continuous load, but also increase the efficiency, productivity, and service life of the entire machine. Our engineers understand our customers' needs. Our technologies help them to offer machine tools that deliver genuine competitive advantages in terms of dynamics, precision, and efficiency.”
For tool axes, Schaeffler notes hybrid bearings—standard in main spindles for decades—have expanded into rail technology, the food industry, e-mobility, and short-stroke feed spindles in machine tools. The VCM series combines these bearings with rings made of Vacrodur high-performance rolling bearing steel to ensure reliability under extreme mechanical, thermal, and tribological loads. Schaeffler says driven tools have evolved over the past 10–15 years into highly productive auxiliary axes, and its response is the PTB precision spindle bearing in precision class P4, with shaft diameters from 10 to 50 mm in dimension series 70 and 719, targeting that market.
For rotary workpiece axes, a Schaeffler customer used RIB torque motors and YRTC rotary axis bearings to build highly dynamic rotary indexing machines. The direct drives hold position to within microns during machining without mechanical clamping, which the company says cuts cycle time. Schaeffler also highlights the XZU angular contact needle roller bearing for laser swivel heads, the YRTA bearing series for automation applications such as pallet changing systems, and YRTCG/YRTAG versions whose outer gearing on the shaft washer replaces a separate gear, reducing installation space, complexity, and assembly time.
For linear and feed axes, the four-row KLLT monorail guidance systems use an X arrangement and are available in eight carriages—long, short, high, or low, with or without flange—to fit production-machine peripherals. They are designed to tolerate larger tolerances and connection defects without causing constraining forces, keeping axes low-maintenance and durable.
- Up to 50% lower
- Up to 40% higher
Why this matters
Machine tools rely on precise bearings and drives to shape metal parts, and Schaeffler's AMB 2026 showcase targets exactly those components. The release reports concrete benefits: L7 linear motors can cut power loss by up to 50% or raise nominal force by up to 40%, and rotary indexing machines can hold position without mechanical clamping, reducing cycle time. Schaeffler says these technologies help its customers offer machine tools with competitive advantages in dynamics, precision, and efficiency.
Terms in This Story
- hybrid bearing
- A rolling bearing that mixes steel rings with ceramic rolling elements, offering lower friction and longer life.
- torque motor
- A direct-drive motor that produces rotation force without a gearbox, useful for precise rotary motion.
- rotary axis bearing
- A bearing that supports a rotating table or swivel axis while carrying heavy loads.
- linear motor
- An electric motor that pushes an object in a straight line rather than spinning it, for high-speed movement.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.