Bearingman

Smokey The Bear!

Smallest bearing; an NHBB SR09. It has (or had - not sure if it's still manufactured) an outside diameter of approximately .125", as I recall. The bearing consisted of an outside ring and inside ring and balls. The most catastrophic failure I can recall is main shaft bearing failure in jet engines. Much of this has been drastically eliminated with the introduction of sensors; sensing micro-pieces of metal shavings in the lubrication system. These would show degradation of the metal utilized in the bearings.

I know of a company, Abbott Ball in Connecticut. Also, there is Hoover Ball, Division of Tsubaki, located in Indiana. You may also try Thomson Ball in Unionville, CT.

Yes, just about all moving products use some type of bearing, whether it be ball type bearings, roller bearings, needle bearing, etc. Most products you purchase probably were conveyed on a conveyor utilizing stamped bearings in the rollers. Your automobile has all types of bearings; and so it goes...

The largest I am aware of is a bearing specially produced for a house, I believe in New England, where the owner wanted the house to rotate 360 degrees. I believe that particular bearing was 12 feet in diameter.

There are also bearings produced for huge turret lathes which, as I understand it, can go as large as 10 meters in diameter. Also, there is a group of large bearings, entitled "Thinex" bearings. These have a small cross section, yet large OD and ID and are utilized in the power generating windmills seen across the countryside.