Bearings come in many shapes and sizes for different applications. They are used in something as small as a child’s toy and as big as a drawbridge. Therefore, they are some of the most commonly used components found in engineering and manufacturing today. The basic purpose of these components is to allow movement for parts of a machine or a large structure. When we turn our focus to the industrial sector, we find that many machines utilise bearings for different functions and in various applications.

Industrial machine bearings are manufactured from white-metal alloys. These alloys optimise various attributes of the component for specific applications. The white-metal alloys that are used to manufacture these components consist mostly of various combinations of tin, lead, and copper. Antimony is also sometimes added to the mix. Therefore, it is pivotal to ensure that the correct alloy is used when manufacturing specific derivatives. The combination of metals varies based on the purpose of the specific one.

Lead is one of the more common and affordable metals. In fact, by volume, it is denser and heavier than most other elements. By adding lead into the white-metal alloy, the alloy gains more plasticity. This allows for easier shaping and moulding during the manufacturing process. Low-cost general-purpose bearings are generally manufactured using a white-metal alloy that consists mostly of lead. Tin is also added to the alloy, in addition to very small percentages of copper and antimony. The higher the required quality and durability of the white-metal alloy, the less lead is added to it. Tin serves as the base metal from which most white-metal alloys are created for these specific purposes.

Civil bearings are different from their machine counterparts. These components are placed between the pillars and deck of a bridge. They are also used in tall buildings and other structures to allow limited movement to permit certain sections of the structures to expand and retract. Thermal expansion means that most structures must compensate for specific elements of the structure to expand and retract. For bridges, the deck is usually the section of the structure that is most susceptible to thermal expansion. Therefore, a civil bridge bearing is installed between the deck and pillars. This allows the deck to rest on the pillars with enough free movement not to cause any structural damage when expanding and retracting.

Technoslide is your supplier of machine and civil bearings. For more on how we can assist your business with our solutions, browse our website for details on white-metal and civil bearings.