mps's four-point contact bearings : precision and performance
The use of the four-point contact bearing is interesting for the designer when he/she pursues the following objectives:
Saving in space --> reduces size of the design, primarily with regard to thickness
Reduced friction conditions of the rotating elements with a large diameter
Ensuring of good loadability in the radial and axial direction
Efforts to reduce play
Examples of non-exhaustive high-end application fields that have adopted the mps's technology of four-point contact bearing :
Watch industry for high-end and luxury time pieces The ball bearing is one of the essential elements of a self-winding watch in providing the dynamic link to the oscillating mass that assures the tightening of the mainspring. Other functions are carried out in the movement (rocking, reversal direction etc.), in the case or in the dial (rotating disks). In 2002, mps created the first lubricant-free bearing that is considered as a major technical innovation. Example of available watch bearings
Medical Four-point contact bearings are integrated in micro-mechanisms which are to be implanted in the human body. To meet the very strict requirements in medical engineering, the bearings are manufactured of special materials approved for these areas. Example of available bio-compatible bearings
Micromotors The advantages of using these types of bearings in micro-motors largely lie in their service life under minor loads, which may reach several thousand hours, and in their simultaneous loadability in both the radial and the axial direction. Example of available bearings for micro-motors
AND MANY OTHERS: OPTICS, AEROSPACE, SEMICONDUCTORS, SECURITY...
Micro-balls
Steel in revolution
It takes several days of machining, starting from an extruded steel wire, to achieve the perfect sphere. The thermal treatment lends the stainless steel outstanding physical characteristics and a superior hardness for 60 HRC. And the final polishing stage leaves a mirror finish on the ball Available miniature precision balls
