Brief History of Bearing Development

Time：2020.09.04  Source：Roller Bearings Suppliers

The bearing is the support of the mechanical drive shaft and is an important guarantee for the performance, function and efficiency of the main engine. It is known as the "joint" of the machine. Its main function is to transmit force and movement and reduce friction loss.

Don't think that such high-end devices are modern products. No, bearings have existed on the earth for 8,000 years.

Bearings appear for the first time

In the Neolithic Age 8,000 years ago, slow-wheel pottery craftsmanship appeared in China. The pottery wheel used for pottery is a disc equipped with an upright rotating shaft. Put the reconciled clay or rough in the center of the pottery wheel to rotate the pottery wheel. Need WSBC 22209CA/W33, click here learn more:

The base of this wooden pottery wheel is like a trapezoidal round table, and there is a small raised cylinder in the center of the upper table, which is the axis of the pottery wheel turntable. The turntable is supported by the shaft on the round table to rotate. This is the earliest bearing prototype found now.

After more than 2000 years, ancient Egypt started a vast pyramid construction project 6000 years ago.

During the construction process, the ancient Egyptians placed a row of wooden poles under the skid board and used the rolling of the wooden poles to move heavy objects. People called it Mulun transportation.

This and modern linear motion bearings use a working principle, but sometimes balls are used instead of rollers.

Later, it was discovered that wooden wheels with larger diameters were used for faster transportation, so the diameter of wooden wheels became larger and larger, gradually evolving into wheels with axles, which formed the earliest prototype of wheels. Of course, the wheel is also an invention of our Chinese nation.

The early rolling bearings had a big problem, that is, collisions between the rollers would cause unnecessary friction. The modern rolling bearing with a cage was invented in 1760 by the British watchmaker John Harrison. Less than 260 years ago.  

The development of modern bearings

Early stage

The 17th century was the beginning of modern bearings.

During the Qing Dynasty, it has been able to produce well-made rolling bearings.

From the 17th century to the 19th century, modern bearings developed for two hundred years, and the industrial production of bearings has just started.

Growth period

The two world wars stimulated the development of the military industry and the machinery industry. People found that bearings are used in automobiles, airplanes, tank armor, machine tools, instruments, meters, bicycles, sewing machines, etc., and they are almost universal.

During the Second World War, with the modernization of the means of war, people's understanding and emphasis on bearings has reached an unprecedented height. All countries urgently need bearings and are eager to establish a bearing industry. As a result, a large number of bearing factories have appeared in various countries, and the types of bearings have grown exponentially.

Development period

In recent decades, with the rapid development of high and new technology such as aerospace, nuclear power industry, electronic computers, opto-electromagnetic instruments, precision machinery, etc., the world bearing industry, which reflects contemporary science and technology, has entered a comprehensive innovation manufacturing technology, rapidly developing varieties, and vigorously Improved performance, accuracy, and increasingly mature and perfect new historical period.

There were all kinds of bearings in this period, and their uses were all-encompassing. There are currently tens of thousands of bearing varieties, with extra-large bearings as large as 38 meters and miniature bearings as small as a few tenths of a millimeter. Click here learn more about WSBC 22210CA/W33.

There are traditional single-row, double-row, multi-row ball bearings, roller bearings, needle bearings, tapered bearings, non-lubricated bearings, self-lubricating bearings, angular contact bearings, transducer bearings, universal joint bearings, ultra-thin wall bearings Bearings, hub unit bearings, air bearings, linear bearings, superconducting bearings, magnetic bearings, etc.

Among these bearings, rolling bearings are the most widely used, standardized and industrialized. In terms of theoretical research product manufacturing and application technology, people also have a soft spot for rolling bearings.