Ball bearings are devices that support, guide, and reduce the friction of motion between fixed and moving machine parts. Ball bearings are only one such device but one of the most commonly used, particularly in applications where metal comes in contact with other metals. There are literally hundreds of ball bearing manufacturers, located around the globe, that supply "standard", off-the-shelf bearings, many of which utilize precision steel balls as the load-carrying component.

With today's computer-based design tools, the most complex assemblies can be designed with relative ease. In some cases, however, these designs may not be suitable for standard ball bearings whether for cost, materials used, space limitations, or load capacity. In cases such as these a custom ball bearing may be required. Hartford Technologies is one of the leading suppliers of custom ball bearings and is known in many industries solely for this purpose.

Because of Hartford Technologies' diverse manufacturing capabilities, custom ball bearings can be conceived, designed, produced, and tested under one roof. The retainers used in custom ball bearings can be steel or plastic with the inner and outer races stamped, molded or machined. The rolling elements (balls) can also be manufactured from steel or plastic. Custom ball bearings can be designed for either rotary or linear motion.

The use of steel for the retainer components of custom ball bearings has been the most common in the past. However, because of the development of a broad array of engineered plastics, more and more custom ball bearing designs are making use of them. From a cost perspective, the use of plastics in a custom ball bearing design is most effective in high volume applications. While the per-piece price may be much lower than steel, enough volume must be present to offset the mold tool costs.

In applications where the balls and the retainer are carrying the load it is important to design a custom ball bearing where the materials selected for both the balls and the retainer components are of sufficient strength to absorb them. Additionally, consideration must be given to allow for wear over time.

In many applications, the retainer portion of a custom ball bearing sees no loads other than those to keep the ball(s) in place. An example would be in a sliding track assembly where a custom ball bearing is situated between two moving parts. In these applications, since the ball itself bears the load the material used for the retainer could be almost anything.

Hartford Technologies' ability to engineer and manufacturer custom ball bearings is why many of today's leading OEM's look to us for innovative solutions to their bearing needs.