Object Details
- Description
- Svenska Kullagerfabriken (Swedish Ball Bearing Factory, SKF) manufactured this large thin-ring ball bearing around 1950. Thin-ring bearings are those when the inner diameter is close in size to the outer diameter, which limits the bearing’s load but reduces the size and weight of the bearing. This bearing is inscribed “GCI I-71008.” The Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association collected bearings for a public relations exhibit during the early 1950s, and donated them to the museum in 1977.
- Simple bearings have been used for thousands of years reducing friction on turning parts like the axles of carts. In the late 1800s and early 1900s advances in machining and production expanded bearing use in all types of machines greatly increasing their life and precision. Bearings reduce friction on turning surfaces and keep them running true. Bearings come in a variety of shapes and sizes (including ball, roller, tapered, and simple friction). Modern bearings are often set in an inner and outer ring (called a race) sometimes with cages (separators) spacing the bearings. Changes to the size, shape, alignment, race, and cage allow for bearings to be used in almost any industry—from industrial turbines and automobiles to household mixers and computer hard drives.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- Credit Line
- Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association
- Physical Description
- steel (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1/2 in x 7 1/2 in; 1.27 cm x 19.05 cm
- Object Name
- bearing
