cadSet/text-to-cad/skills/cad/references/cad-skillx/planning/bearing-housing-or-seat.planning.md

Bearing Housing Or Seat Planning Skill

When to use

• The request describes a bearing housing, bearing seat, bearing support, bearing block, pillow-block-like support, bushing seat, shaft support, or retainer body.
• The central functional feature is a precise coaxial bore, pocket, sleeve, shoulder, or counterbore that locates a bearing or bushing.
• The part is a single machined component that supports a shaft or bearing, not the rolling bearing assembly itself.

Do not use when

• The user asks for a complete bearing with balls, rollers, cage, inner race, and outer race.
• The bearing word is only speculative and there is no bore, seat, sleeve, pocket, or retaining geometry.
• The part is mainly a flange, washer, simple tube, or rectangular plate with unrelated holes.
• The task requires an assembly of shaft, bearing, seals, fasteners, and housing together.

Recognition features

• Coaxial shaft clearance bore through the body.
• Larger bearing pocket or counterbore with controlled depth.
• Shoulder, step, retaining lip, snap-ring groove, or cover seat to locate the bearing axially.
• Mounting base, side lugs, flange, bolt holes, ribs, or bosses can appear, but they support the bearing axis rather than define the part family.
• Chamfers at bore entrances and seat edges guide assembly.

Core invariants

• Bearing seat diameter, shaft clearance diameter, housing outside diameter, and cover features share one axis.
• Separate the bearing outer-diameter seat from the shaft clearance bore; they are not the same feature.
• Leave a shoulder or defined depth when the bearing must stop axially.
• Build enough housing material before cutting the bearing pocket.
• Add mounting holes and ribs after the main bore/seat relationship is established.
• Do not model balls or rollers unless the prompt explicitly asks for a bearing assembly.

Parameter roles

• bearing_outer_diameter defines the pocket or seat diameter.
• shaft_clearance_diameter defines the through bore.
• seat_depth defines how far the bearing is inserted.
• shoulder_height or shoulder_diameter defines axial retention.
• housing_wall_thickness controls material around the bearing pocket.
• mounting_hole_pattern, base_length, base_width, and base_thickness define attachment to the frame.
• rib_thickness and rib_height define optional support ribs.

Construction sequence

1. Define the bearing axis and choose the housing form: block, flanged seat, sleeve, pedestal, or bracketed support.
2. Create the main housing/body with enough wall thickness around the bearing axis.
3. Cut the through shaft clearance bore on the main axis.
4. Cut the bearing pocket/counterbore to its seat depth, leaving a clear shoulder where needed.
5. Add retaining grooves, cover recesses, set-screw holes, oil holes, or alignment features only if requested.
6. Add base mounting holes, bolt pads, ribs, and bosses using datum-driven positions.
7. Finish with bore lead-in chamfers, outside chamfers, and small fillets.

Common failures

• Generating a bearing assembly instead of a housing or seat part.
• Making the bearing seat and shaft clearance the same diameter.
• Missing the shoulder/depth that locates the bearing.
• Off-axis mounting of bore, pocket, or outer sleeve.
• Turning every bearing support into a flange even when the evidence suggests a block or pedestal.
• Adding decorative ribs or fasteners that obscure the bearing pocket.

Evidence summary

• Current library evidence: 24 previously reviewed SCAD58 bearing housing/seat descriptions.
• Latest run evidence: accepted insights for central bore alignment, bearing/bushing-like cylindrical seats, coaxial features, counterbores, mounting holes, and chamfered bore entries.
• Frequent operations in the latest run: Extrusion, Revolution, Cut, RevCut, HoleWzd, Chamfer, Fillet.
• Source: CAD-SkillX offline review of SCAD58 descriptions, STEP summaries, and SolidWorks feature evidence.

Retrieval metadata

Triggers:

• bearing housing
• bearing seat
• bearing support
• bearing block
• bushing seat

Secondary triggers:

• bearing bore
• bearing pocket
• shaft clearance
• retaining shoulder
• coaxial seat
• pillow block

Operation triggers:

• cut coaxial bore
• counterbore bearing seat
• create shoulder
• add mounting base holes
• chamfer bore entry

Exclusions:

• complete rolling bearing
• plain washer
• flange only
• simple tube
• shaft only