NORTH AMERICA

PSI Aerospace Bearings

Design Type Considerations

Why use PSI plain metallic bearings?

Basic Benefits to Users

• Extended service life (Due to conformity of ball and race)
• Reduced maintenance cost
  -Repairable design (through ball replacement)
  -"On wing" replacement (with only ball and pin removal)
  -Reliable retention (only initial installation)
• Multiple lubrication options (To speed and simplify relubrication)

Benefits to Designers

• Reduced bearing weight
• Smaller bearing size, thus, smaller related structures
• Wide temperature range
• Increased bearing stiffener
• Accommodates special configurations
• Lower total cost (Bearing plus related hardware and structure)

Why use slotted entry versus swaged designs?

Versus Swaged TFE Lined

• Better race to ball conformity
• Higher strength in race
• Variety of race materials available
• Manufacturing consistency due to set up and process
• Higher bearings stiffness  (Without "soft" fabric liner)
• Consistent wear rate
  -No variations on the wear surface (ball) versus those often found in liners

Versus Swaged Metal On Metal

• Better race to ball conformity
  -No "relaxation" of swaged race
  -Conformity is "inspectable" without destructive testing
• Higher strength in race
  -Without need for ductility of swaging, material can be of higher hardness
• Variety of race materials for corrosion or temperature
  -Need not be swagable
• Manufacturing consistency
  -No variations in die setup, curing process, etc. to impact uniformity of design capabilities