3D Printed Thrust Bearing
http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:25706
When two objects are moving together they can have two kinds of contact: sliding or rolling.
- Sliding produces a lot of friction which leads to extra work, heat, wear, and damage. Sometimes this can be overcome by using two different types of materials: brass slides easily over steel, but steel doesn’t slide well over steel.
- Rolling is smooth and (nearly) frictionless. Bearings are like wheels on a car: they turn as much sliding friction into rolling friction as possible. Did you know there are bearings inside most of your moving household appliances?
What makes Thrust Bearings special
Thrust bearings work like normal bearings except they can take more axial load. (force in the direction the center axis is pointing). Put two of them back to back and you get a Slew Ring, a bearing that can take a great deal of force every which way.
