What is a Bearing

Speaking of the origin of bearings, this has to be traced back to the ancient Egyptian period. The early form of linear motion bearings consisted of a row of wooden poles placed under a skid. This technique may be traced back to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, although there is no clear evidence yet. Modern linear motion bearings use a working principle, but sometimes balls are used instead of rollers.

Early-stage

From heavy-duty wheel axles and machine tool spindles to precision watch parts, rotating bearings are required in many cases. The simplest rotary bearing is a bushing bearing and just a bushing sandwiched between the wheel and the axle. This design was subsequently replaced by rolling bearings, which replaced the original bushings with many cylindrical rollers, each of which was like a separate wheel. The first rolling bearing with the cage to be put into practical use was invented by watchmaker John Harrison in 1760 to make the H3 chronograph.

In the 17th century, Galileo made the earliest description of “fixed ball” or “cage ball” ball bearings. But for a long time afterward, the installation of bearings on the machine has not been realized. The first patent on the ball groove was in 1794. An iron manufacturer named Philip Vaughan of Carmarthen in Wales used ball bearings as axle bearings for carriages. From then on until the 1950s and 60s. In the age, ball bearings were widely used in children’s carousels, propeller shafts, machine gun turrets on warships, armchairs, and bicycles.

In 1883, FAG founder Friedrich Fisher proposed using suitable production machines to grind steel balls of the same size and accurate roundness. This laid the foundation for the creation of independent bearing industry.

In 1895, Henry Timken designed the first tapered roller bearing, after three years to obtain a patent and Timken (Timken) company.

In 1907, Sven Winquist of the SKF bearing factory designed the earliest modern self-aligning ball bearing.

Although the bearing was invented for some time, the industrialized production of the bearing was born out of nothing, just started and quite immature.

Growth period

The two world wars stimulated the development of the military industry, the bearing military industry’s increasingly prominent position, coupled with the rapid development of science and technology, the short-term stability after the First World War, and the urgent need for munitions during the Second World War, prompted the rapid growth of the world bearing industry and the increase in bearing varieties. It is widely used in many fields such as automobiles, airplanes, tanks and armored vehicles, machine tools, instruments, meters, bicycles, sewing machines, etc.

During the Second World War, with the modernization of the means of war, people’s understanding and emphasis on bearings have reached unprecedented heights. All countries are in urgent need of bearings and are eager to establish a bearing industry. Therefore, many bearing factories have appeared in various countries. . This can be seen only from the selection of points when the Allied forces attacked the German Nazis. Large-scale cluster bombing, destroying the morale and economy of the enemy in one fell swoop, was a typical tactic of the Second World War. When driving to Germany to attack targets, the Allies believed that to weaken the enemy’s combat effectiveness, it was necessary to bombard German submarine factories and bases, aircraft factories, bearing factories, oil refineries, synthetic rubber factories, and vehicles. The bearing factory was set as a key bombing target, and the small town of Schweinfurt, where the German bearing factory was concentrated, was subjected to large-scale bombing twice in August and October 1943. Performing the bombing mission is the U.S. Ace Air Force Eight. Nazi German Military Supplies Minister Albert Schupé admitted that the bombing in August reduced German bearing production by 38%, while the results of the bombing in October destroyed 65% of bearing companies.

Development period

With the rapid development of high and new technology such as aerospace, nuclear industry, electronic computers, photoelectromagnetic instruments, precision machinery, etc., the world bearing industry, which reflects the level of contemporary science and technology, has entered a comprehensive, innovative manufacturing technology, rapidly developed varieties, and greatly improved performance and accuracy. , A new historical period of increasing maturity and perfection.

There are all kinds of bearings in this period, and their uses are all-encompassing. At present, there are tens of thousands of bearing types. Extra-large bearings are as large as 38 meters, and miniature bearings are as small as a few tenths of a millimeter. There are traditional single-row, double-row, and multi-row ball bearings, roller bearings, Needle roller bearings, tapered bearings, non-lubricated bearings, self-lubricating bearings, angular contact bearings, transmitter bearings, universal joint bearings, ultra-thin-wall bearings, hub unit bearings, air bearings, linear bearings, superconducting bearings, magnetic suspension Bearings and so on.

The bearing industry has become a big climate. Like parts and components, small bearings already have an exclusive market that is quite large and cannot be underestimated. The bearing trade has ushered in its heyday.