Hartford Technologies specializes in the engineering and manufacture of custom bearing solutions for the automotive, recreational vehicle and industrial markets. Based on over 85 years of engineering experience, Hartford Technologies has the ability to suggest design changes where either the bearing or the application’s performance may substantially be improved.
One such solution was recently developed by the Hartford Technologies research and development team for a seat mechanism manufacturer in the automotive industry. When presented with the problem within the drive gear assembly, Hartford not only solved the issue of excessive friction within the screw drive mechanism, but also upgraded the device’s performance while reducing scrap.
The speci c product developed by Hartford Technologies was a cage-style thrust bearing assembly that functionally encapsulates the washers within the cage that holds the retainer. Additional advantages to this improved design include fewer loose parts to handle, allowing for a much easier installation process and an increased labor savings. Also, having just a single part number to order, rather than three, helps reduce the purchasing workload.
Thrust bearings are a style of rotary bearing in that they allow rotation between parts while at the same time supporting a high axial load. Depending on the axial load requirements, di erent styles of thrust bearings may be used.
In general, a thrust bearing can be manufactured as either a ball thrust bearing or a roller thrust bearing. A ball thrust bearing uses balls that are held together in a ring, and able to be used
in applications with lower thrust requirements and little radial load. The washers are usually grooved, but may also be at. This automotive seat application utilized an improved roller thrust bearing design, which was composed of cylindrical rolling elements rather than balls. Roller thrust bearings typically have higher load carrying advantages over ball thrust bearings of the same size. Also, as opposed to ball thrust bearings, the washers used in a roller thrust bearing are without grooves and typically at.
Hartford Technologies has extensive manufacturing and global logistics capabilities that are able to accommodate both your immediate needs and future requirements. Contact them now and put their experience to work for your company’s next custom bearing requirement!
Hartford Technologies is ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 14001 certified.
