A Brief History of Linear Bearing Development-Ningbo Meiyate Precision Transfers Component Co.,ltd.

A Brief History of Linear Bearing Development

2020-09-29

While linear bearings are widely assumed to be a 20th century industrial invention, their origins trace much further back in history. Archaeological evidence indicates that classical civilizations such as the Greeks and the Romans used primitive forms of bearings for various mechanical applications. However, bearing technology as we know it today was conceived during the Renaissance and fully realized around the turn of the last century. Renaissance thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci helped to establish the superiority of rolling mechanical motion over sliding mechanical motion by the end of the sixteenth century. (Da Vinci himself helped to introduce a product known as a roller-bearing disc into industry during this period.) From roughly 1600-1750 plain or sliding bearing development took precedence over roller bearing development as Western science continued to grow and develop. Roller type linear bearings reappeared during the eighteenth century, mainly for use in wagon and carriage applications. The two main types of roller bearings, ball and roller, were established by the nineteenth century. Interestingly, the development of the bicycle helped to spur the development of precision ball bearing manufacturing and the rise of true bearing manufacturers. A progression from cast iron to steel (solidified by the advent of World War I) marked another development in bearing technology around the turn of the twentieth century. Linear bearings of all types form a crucial part of industry today. For most of the past century, bearing technology has focused on methods of extending the durability and endurance of these critical components.

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A Brief History of Linear Bearing Development

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