Plain Bearings for Aerospace Applications Article

Aerospace & Defense Technology, an engineering magazine that covers advances in aerospace and military design engineering, recently featured an article that showcases how GGB’s plain bearings are used in the aerospace industry, including in the robotic drilling arm of NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover. Titled “Plain Bearings for Aerospace Applications”, the article begins by explaining the differences between two types of plain bearings GGB offers: fiber reinforced composite (FRC) bearings and metal-polymer bearings. The manufacturing process for each bearing is then described with commentary from Kim Evans, one of GGB’s aerospace application engineers, and Yuri Klepach, GGB’s FRC Product Manager. Some of the main applications of GGB aerospace bearings are highlighted, one of which being DU metal-polymer bearings in the arm-drill of NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover. This application required bearings that could withstand the harsh temperatures of Mars (between -153oC and 20oC) while having excellent wear resistance to ensure the rover could efficiently operate for the duration of its mission. Other applications include DU-B metal-polymer bearings in landing gear struts and HSG high-load FRC bearings in scissor-lifts used for aircraft ground support

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