The Project
An automotive OEM asked Hartford to produce a custom needle roller bearing comprised of a plastic retainer and two rows of needle rollers. The bearing was designed for new electronic power steering systems.
What the Customer Required
The bearing does not carry a high load or rotate at high speeds, but the application required a high degree of precision and a competitive price.
What We Did
Hartford Technologies was able to achieve a ± 1µm tolerance on the needle roller OD. Since it is difficult to achieve a high Cpk at this tolerance at reasonable cost, a high speed sorter was added that checks the diameter of each needle roller to assure it meets the specification. The needles are inserted into the retainer using automated equipment. In the final step, a vision system was used to verify needle presence in each retainer cavity.
Expert engineering, high precision and affordable cost were all achieved. Hartford Technologies’ two-continent solution, which combines US-based engineering and quality management with China-based manufacturing, proved to be a combination perfectly suited to this customer, and this application. Hartford Technologies has extensive experience producing components, solutions and customized bearing assemblies for the automotive industry.
