Akron Bearing Co., Inc.

In 1898, Henry Timken was awarded a patent for the tapered roller bearing. At the time, Timken was a carriage-maker in St. Louis and held three patents for carriage springs. However, it was his patent for tapered roller bearings that allowed his company to become successful. Tapered roller bearings were a breakthrough at the end of the 19th century because bearings used in wheel axles had not changed much since ancient times. They relied on bearings enclosed in a case that held lubricants. These were called journal bearings and depended on lubricants to function. Without proper lubrication, these bearings would fail due to excessive heat caused by friction. Timken was able to significantly reduce the friction on his bearings by using a cup and cone design incorporating tapered bearings that actually rolled, which reduced the load placed on the bearings by distributing the weight and load evenly across the cups, rollers, and the inner race. These can take both large axial and radial forces, making them ideal for a wide range of applications. In many applications tapered roller bearings are used in back-to-back pairs so that axial forces can be supported equally in either direction. Pairs of tapered roller bearings are used in car and vehicle wheel bearings. Other common real world applications are in agriculture, construction and mining equipment, axle systems, and gear boxes or speed reducers.

It’s one thing to get something spinning with the help of a bearing. Another type of motion is in a linear, or back and forth, dimension. Akron Bearing can help you with your linear motion needs. Most utilize recirculating ball or roller bearing elements (although some use plain bearings with special low friction coatings) that allow for smooth movement along track or rail. These systems can be very long, quiet, move quickly and carry a lot of load, depending on what type of system is used. Some common types include: Slide Guides – high precision, high rigidity bearing which lower friction and do not stick or slip. They have very smooth operation even under high loads. Slide ways tables – non-recirculating bearings with a very high level of precision. Found often in measurement equipment. Slide bushings – one of the most common types of linear bearings, these bushings work on special hardened round shafts and bushings either by themselves or mounted in housings. There is a broad range of designs for these bearings, which makes them suitable for most applications. Akron Bearing can help you with your linear bearing needs. We work with manufacturers like THK, Thompson (now Danaher Motion), NB, IKO, INA, Pacific Bearings, Star Linear (or Bosch Rexroth), and many others. Give a call or stop by our store today to see what Akron Bearing can do for you.

Self-aligning ball bearings have a spherical outer ring raceway, the center of whose curvature meats that of the bearing itself, so that the inner ring, ball and cage continue to rotate, aligning themselves if they have become misaligned within design limits. This type of bearing is suitable when the displacement of the centers around which the shaft and housing rotate and shaft deflection are likely to occur. Sometimes, they feature a tapered bore to fit the shaft with an adapter assembly. Also, it’s possible to get these bearings with integral rubber lip seals.

Gearing, especially gearboxes (like speed reducers and ratio multipliers), are one of the major workhorses of industrial power transmission. They come in many shapes, sizes, strengths, and gear types, including worm, helical, beveled, or planetary gears. Each type of option has its own advantages and disadvantages and that’s where the expertise of the Akron Bearing Company can help make your life easier. We know to use a worm unit when compact design and ease of installation is needed, and we know to use a helical unit to handle large amounts of torque. We can also help with integral gearbox and motor assemblies. These are unit which include an electric motor already assembled to the gear box. This can make the whole process simpler and quicker, saving time on the installation of a new unit. Open gearing is the guts of an enclosed gearbox just exposed to the world. Common examples are spur gear, bevel and miter gears, and worm gears. We also can help with gear rack. Stop by our store or give a call today to find out how we can help you with any and all of your gearing needs!

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Akron Bearings boasts a large selection of bronze & oilite material from our inventory. Our suppliers include Isostatic Industries, IDC-USA, Bunting Bearing, Diversified Bronze, American Sleeve Bearing & many, more. Here are some of the products we can offer: Product - Bronze.jpg Cast Bronze & Oilite straight bushings Oilite flanged bushings Oilite thrust washers Continuous cast bronze bar stock, solid & cored 13” long Powdered metal bronze (Oilite) bar stock, solid & cored 6-12” long Solid & cored 5” long Super Oilube bar stock Powdered metal bronze discs, plates & rectangle stock TU style self lubricating bearings Rexnord Duralon BRONZE BEARING CATALOG Don’t see the size or material you need? Give us a call; our suppliers can make the size you need in a timely manner

Deep groove ball bearings incorporate grooved raceways on both the inner ring and outer ring, which enable them to sustain moderate axial loads in both directions in addition to radial loads. Balls are separated by steel cages, permitting high-speed operation. Double row angular contact bearings are designed to accommodate combined simultaneous acting axial and radial loads. Balls are normally separated by high-speed Polyamide cages. Most bearings are prelubricated with Mobil Polyrex EM grease or Chevron SRI-2, which provides excellent lubrication up to 350°F. Sealed and shielded bearings are lubricated for life. Bearing Steel Standard bearings utilize high quality 52100 through hardened steel. Stainless steel units utilize high quality AISI 440C stainless steel to combine corrosion resistance and provide hardness and strength. Bearing Configurations IDC Select radial ball bearings are manufactured as either sealed (2RS), shielded (ZZ) or open. Many bearings can also be supplied with snap rings (NR). Sealed (2RS) bearings feature contact lip seals that provide excellent protection from liquids and contamination. However, seal rubbing can result in friction (drag) and produce heat, which could be a concern in high-speed applications. Shielded (ZZ) bearings have non-contact steel shields that do not protect against liquids but add no friction or heat build-up during operation. Open bearings are supplied with a coating of light oil and are used in oil bath and oil mist environments.