LOAD AND LIFE RATINGS FOR ROLLING BEARINGS - 100 YEARS OF PROGRESS

摘要

The design of modern ball and roller bearings, called rolling bearings, was revealed initially by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Renaissance period of western civilization. His drawings as exemplified by Fig. 1 clearly illustrated balls used as machine elements that rolled on circular tracks. It was not until about 350 years later during the period called the Industrial Revolution, however, that rolling bearings came to be used consistently in machinery to permit rotary motion. Roller bearings experienced great usage in carriages and railroad cars, while ball bearings got substantial impetus in bicycle wheel applications.