Rod End and Spherical Bearings

Rod End Bearings manufactured by MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies are utilized on everything from small private aircraft to the largest long haul commercial jets.  They are critical components in mechanical links and actuation systems such as engine mounts, landing gear down-lock braces, wing flap actuators, and blade pitch control assemblies. The full product family includes industry standard and customer certified bearings, complex solutions like INVINSYS® pitch link bearing system, and custom engineered solutions.

SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES

• Full complement of rod end body types
• Premium and exotic bearing alloys
• A wide selection of patented self-lubricating liner systems
• Special surface treatments and coatings, including RoHS-compliant options
• Integral features for unlimited design options and performance improvements

The Spherical Plain Bearings manufactured by MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies are specialized solutions utilized on everything from small private aircraft to the largest long haul commercial jets. They are critical components in mechanical links and actuation systems such as gearbox mounts, landing gear trunnions, vertical stabilizers, and helicopter rotor head assemblies. The full product line includes industry-standard and customer-certified bearings, complex designs like split ball spherical assemblies and pintle bearings, and custom engineered solutions.

SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES

• Metal-to-metal and self-lubricating series
• Broad selection of construction types
• Premium and exotic bearing alloys
• A wide selection of patented self-lubricating liner systems
• Special surface treatments and coatings, including RoHS-compliant options
• Integral features for unlimited design option

The Loader Slot Bearing manufactured by MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies is specially designed to enable ball replacement without the need for bearing removal. This feature is invaluable in mechanical links and actuation systems, such as engine mounts, which experience vibratory or static loads that produce small relative motion between the ball and race. Loader Slot Bearings are available either as a spherical bearing or a two-piece rod end. The entire product family consists of standard catalog items that include fully interchangeable Stellite® balls and nitride-coated spherical race inner diameters, and custom engineered solutions for applications with demanding performance requirements.

SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES

• Premium and exotic bearing alloys
• Special surface treatments and coatings, including RoHS-compliant options
• Integral features for unlimited design options

MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies manufacture Self-Lubricated Sleeve Bearings for a wide range of applications on both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including engine mounts, flap actuation hinges, landing gear retraction actuator systems, and helicopter rotor scissor drives. The complete product family includes industry-standard and customer-certified products, unique designs like our large titanium landing gear bushings, and custom engineered solutions for very demanding applications. Also available are customized lubricated (metal-to-metal) sleeve bearings made from bronze, steel or stainless steel.

SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES

• Premium and exotic bearing alloys
• A wide selection of patented self-lubricating liner systems
• Special surface treatments and coatings, including RoHS-compliant options
• Integral features for unlimited design options

Highly engineered solutions featuring precision bearings and machined parts, shipped as complete assemblies, is a cost-effective strategy for achieving consistently high quality and a streamlined supply chain. MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies offer customers numerous options—and a great deal of flexibility—for outsourcing the production and assembly of Precision Next-Up Mechanical Assemblies. As a Group consisting of bearing specialists and advanced, high-precision manufacturers, the Group is capable of fabricating everything from small, two-piece components containing a precision bearing to very large, highly complex assemblies made of lightweight superalloys and possessing several intricate machined parts. Experienced product and manufacturing engineers provide full support for every phase of the design and production process, starting with application engineering and continuing through prototyping, in-house qualification testing, high-precision machining and finish grinding, bearing installation, and final assembly.

RELATED CAPABILITIES

• Applications engineering and new product development
• In-house performance validation and qualification testing
• High precision advanced manufacturing of bearings and machined components—turning, milling and machining, grinding (OD/Bore), EDM
• Design and production of complex geometric parts through additive manufacturing techniques
• Expert bearing installation and management of stack-up tolerances among components
• Production process development and management
• Complete assembly of finished product

MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies are leaders in the development of self-lubricating liner solutions for demanding aerospace applications, such as engine mounts, landing gear gland assemblies, helicopter pitch-link control systems, and more. The many woven PTFE fabrics and machinable compounds developed by the Group contain specific properties that address any number of operating conditions and performance objectives. Wide-ranging solutions provide improved wear resistance for increased bearing life, machinability for precise fit and function, superior corrosion and moisture resistance for consistent performance in harsh conditions, high-temperature resistance for durable performance in the hot zone of jet engines, and more.

ADVANCED SOLUTIONS

• INVINSYS® An innovative pitch control bearing technology that lasts up to two and a half times longer than previous designs.
• MinebeaMitsumi’s Minelon® and NHBB’s Oscimax® self-lubricating, machinable liner solutions provide exceptional wear life and consistent, reliable performance while achieving tighter tolerances. Available solutions range from cost-effective standard bearings to high-value custom components as well as line-only applications on customer parts. Download the brochure.
• VULKYN® A high-temperature self-lubricating liner solution with a maximum operating temperature that is 75°F higher than previous designs.

MinebeaMitsumi Aerospace companies supply Self-Aligning Annular Roller Bearings manufactured to SAE AS8914 and Self-Aligning Rod Ends manufactured to the SAE AS8952. The two main characteristics of a Self-Aligning Roller Bearing are low starting torque and a self-alignment capability. These attributes make them suitable for flight control actuation systems and many other applications with slow to medium rotation, heavy loads, and significant misalignment. The full product line consists of eleven specific sub-types, in single- and double-row configurations, as well as highly engineered custom solutions for more extreme applications.

SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES

• Carburized (case hardened) raceways for fatigue resistance
• Protective coatings for enhanced corrosion resistance
• Optional precessing retainer design for double-row configurations
• Optional flexible seal and lubricator fitting for field relubrication