Bearing Historical Background

Bearing Historical Background

Bearings have been in use since the invention of the wheel, dating back to the 5th millennium BC. However, it is assumed that the application of rolling, as a linear rolling bearing (bearings), in the form of wooden logs, is even earlier. of the invention of the wheel.

However, throughout antiquity, the basic type of bearing was friction bearings. It was usually made of wood, and animal fat was used as a lubricant. Typical bearings were on the wheels of wagons and tanks, as well as on the axles of engines (mills etc.). Corresponding friction and lubrication materials were also used where linear motion was desired.

Constructions of this type are still in operation today with a typical example, for the Greek area, of traditional windmills.

The earliest specimen of bearings, recovered from the ruins of the Roman ship Nemi of 40 AD, is a wooden bearing, supporting a rotating table.Around 1500 AD. Bearing designs were identified to design a Leonardo da Vinci helicopter, while the first cylindrical bearings were by Agostino Ramelli. One problem with spherical and cylindrical bearings is that the spheres or cylinders rub against each other causing additional resistance. This problem is usually addressed by the use of a rim that holds the scroll elements in specific positions. The first description of a bearing of this type is attributed to Galileo in the 17th century. The first patent ring ball bearing was awarded to Philip Vaughan at Carmarthen in 1794.

Many construction materials have been used over the years and even today such as wood (old bearings, watermills), brass, ceramics, sapphire (watches), glass, steel, brass, other metals and plastics (eg, nylon, polyoxymethylene). , polytetrafluoroethylene and UHMWPE).

Practically the first cylindrical roller bearings were invented in the mid 1740 by watchmaker John Harrison for the H3 submarine timer. The first patent reportedly was awarded to Jules Suriray, a French bicycle engineer, on August 3, 1869. The seats were then mounted on James Moore's first race winner's bicycle in the first race. , Paris - Rouen in November 1869.

In 1883 Friedrich Fischer, founder of FAG, developed a method for machining and grinding spheres of equal size and precision with respect to sphericity through a suitable machine and formed the basis for the creation of an independent industry. Ρουλεμαν.

The modern design of self-adjusting bearings is due to Sven Wingquist of the SKF bearing construction company in 1907. In 1898 Henry Timken, a visionary and pioneer in the field of car manufacturing, was awarded a patent. The following year he set up a company to produce the new product. The company expanded to produce bearings of all types, including the special steel required, as well as a range of related products and services. Erich Franke patented his invention for wire bearings in 1934. After World War II he founded with Frank Gerhard Heydrich the company Franke & Heydrich KG (today Franke GmbH) to push development and the production of these bearings.

In the early 1980s, Pacific Bearing founder Robert Schroeder invented the first multilayer friction bearings that were interchangeable in size with linear bearings. This bearing had a metal shell (aluminum, steel or stainless steel), and a layer of Teflon attached to a thin layer of glue.

Nowadays bearings are used in many applications which include a swivel part. Examples include super-high speed bearings for dental tools, Mars Rover aerospace bearings, gearboxes and car wheel bearings, eucalyptus bearings and telescopes.

Generally

The most common type of bearings are friction bearings, with or without lubrication. In their simplest form, these bearings are simply a circular hole inside which a pin is turned. Common, simple examples of these types of bearings are hinges on doors and windows, or mobile hinges (antennas, armrests, booms) on construction machinery (excavators, cranes, etc.) and agricultural machinery.