Following significant investment in new grinding and superfinishing machines, Barden's manufacturing plant in Plymouth is now able to offer customers small batch, custom engineered cylindrical roller bearings manufactured to super precision standards.
The Barden Corporation now has the added capability to manufacture a range of cylindrical roller bearings up to 150mm outside diameter. Depending on the configuration of the bearing required, this diameter can be increased to 175mm.
Since 2006, significant investment in new grinding and superfinishing machines from parent company The Schaeffler Group, has enabled Barden's manufacturing plant in Plymouth to significantly improve its machining and finishing capabilities for super-precision bearings, particularly those for demanding customer applications. The new machines include production machines for external and internal grinding of inner and outer rings and for super finishing of running surfaces.
The capability to produce cylindrical roller bearings extends Barden UK's offering even further. Companies that require super precision ball and/or cylindrical roller bearings for critical applications can now purchase from a single source.
Low volumes
Ian Burnage, Operations Manager at Barden, comments: "Often, customers require these types of bearings in small volumes. The problem for the customer is that many bearing suppliers are not equipped to produce super-precision bearings and special configurations in low volumes. With our new machining capabilities, the Plymouth plant can now easily handle both ball and cylindrical roller bearing specials in line with customer requirements. It's what we excel at here."
Barden manufactures its bearings to ISO P4/P2 (ABEC 7/9) tolerance standards, which are the highest standards available in the industry today. "The ISO/ABEC dimensional envelope - down to 4 microns on bore and outside diameter - is not an issue for us," explains Burnage. "A lot of Barden's product is special and doesn't fit into the characteristics that the standards define - an integrated flange, housing or shaft may be included. Here, the geometry and tolerances are customer and application-related, and some features most definitely exceed ABEC 9 requirements. That's where Barden comes in: standard, high precision features married to special attributes tailored for specific applications. That's our contribution to the bearings industry."