Not all plastic bearings are created equal

But not all plastic bearings are the same. BNL plastic bearings are moulded rather than machined, using carefully honed processing techniques and tool design, developed by BNL, specifically for plastic bearing manufacture.

This process equips the raceways of each plastic bearing with fine grain and shear layers that improve tribological properties, suppressing wear and improving operational life. The manufacture of machined plastic bearings, whether fully machined from stock or with machined raceways, removes the crystalline layers that form in moulding, reducing wear rate and life.

In operation, BNL moulded plastic bearings lose less than a quarter of the mass through wear in comparison to an equivalent plastic machined bearing or bearing with machined tracks. Moulded plastic bearings also do not generate as much heat under test as machined versions; heat advances wear rates and leads to melting, distorting and bearing failure.

Moulded plastic bearings already meet a variety of high performance requirements in industries across the globe. BNL supplies custom designed and off the shelf plastic bearing solutions into the automotive controls, steering systems, food processing, material handling, vacuum cleaners, white goods, pool cleaners, shower and spa and security systems.

The life of a bearing is affected by it’s environment, the load it must carry, the speed it operates at, plus how much these vary across its service life. Plastic bearings are affected in different ways by these different conditions. BNL’s moulded industry standard bearings are specially designed and manufactured for improved load, wear-rate and feel, achieving an 80% increase in performance over machined plastic bearings.

With over 45 years of bearing innovation and expertise in its portfolio, BNL offers expert product development support, high quality design and manufacture, plus the benefit of knowledge gained over decades of plastic bearing design.