When man developed, or recognised the wheel, he made a different immediate dilemma. The wheel needed to sit on an axle to make it possible for it to rotate. Because the axle stayed immobile in relation to it, too much friction was made for the wheel to be effectively used for long periods. Axle grease helped, but it was very messy and sticky, and it didn’t last all that long.

 

Bearings were designed to solve this issue. At first, mere shims of metal with grease were still needed, however, with time they became more advanced as new bearing types were developed. They appear to have been with us for a long time now. In fact, I’ve read that forms of spherical bearings have been located on a Roman ship named ‘Nemi’, which was made around 40 AD. The brilliant Leonardo da Vinci must have read about them too, because he was first in creating the preliminary prototype for a set of ball bearings, and that was way back in the 1500’s.

 

Philip Vaughan, who was a Welshman and an iron master as well as an inventor, patented the preliminary design for actual ball bearings somewhere in Carmarthenshire as long ago as 1794. They were made to assist carriage axles.

 

During World War II, English bombers often targeted German ball-bearing factories, as they were very crucial to industry and war production. While the regular individual knows little of these important machines, there are huge companies who make nothing else. SKF for example, is a world leader in its area. They specialise in Roller Bearings and SKF Bearings, as well as having a notable place in the manufacture of Elastomeric Seals.

 

NTN, which is one of the largest bearing manufacturers in the world, creates the world famous NTN bearings. With manufacturing factories worldwide, NTN is one of the leading bearing suppliers for both the automotive and industrial markets. In addition to bearings of all shapes, types and sizes, NTN is also a substantial player in the manufacturing of constant velocity junctions. These are key components in automobile drive-trains. With its headquarters in Japan, and with over 18,000 employees in 27 countries, NTN leads in developing precision equipment.

 

Nachi bearings are a huge Japanese owned company. But, they have factories all over the world, and are a enormous, multi-faceted economic giant. They integrate many types of manufacturing, but still manufacture many forms of bearings.