Composite bearing
AssigneeSmith International, Inc.
InventorsEdward Vezirian, Richard J. Quinones, Alan W. Lockstedt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heavy-duty composite radial journal bearing and a method to produce it is described. A pattern of openings is formed through a bearing sleeve representing, for instance, axially aligned metal bars. The openings are subsequently filled wth a metal dissimilar to the sleeve. Filling may be done with the sleeve in place either on a journal or in a housing, in which case the bearing becomes integral to that member by fusion. Alternately, the sleeve may be filled upon a nonwettable mandrel and subsequently used as a floating ring or as a bushing. Final finish machining reveals a pattern which exists throughout the bearing of alternating areas of relatively hard metal and a softer antigalling metal.
Claims3
A method of producing a composite radial friction bearing comprising the steps of:
- forming a right-cylindrical bearing tube of a first metal,
- forming a multiplicity of fenestrations in said tube in a predetermined pattern,
- placing a second metal which metallurgically wets said tube in said fenestrations and filling said fenestrations to a depth approximately equal to one-half a thickness of said tube,
- placing a third metal which metallurgically wets said second metal and said tube in said fenestrations and completely filling said fenestrations, and
- machining cylindrical surfaces of said right-cylindrical composite bearing tube to predetermined dimensions, forming thereby a first composite bearing surface presenting areas of said first metal and said second metal, and a second bearing surface presenting areas of said first metal and said third metal, said third metal being generally similar to said second metal.
A method of producing a composite radial friction bearing comprising the steps of:
- forming a right-cylindrical bearing tube of a first relatively hard metal,
- forming a multiplicity of fenestrations in said tube in a predetermined pattern,
- positioning said fenestrated tube upon a shaft member,
- placing an anti-galling second metal which metallurgically wets said shaft member and said tube in said fenestrations to fill said fenestrations, and
- then machining the cylindrical surface of said right cylindrical bearing tube on said shaft member to a predetermined dimension, forming thereby a composite bearing surface being characterized by a pattern of alternating areas of anti-galling metal and relatively harder wear-resisting metal within its working surface.
A method of producing a composite radial friction bearing comprising the steps of:
- forming a right-cylindrical bearing tube of a relatively hard first metal,
- forming a multiplicity of fenestrations in said tube in a predetermined pattern,
- positioning said fenestrated tube within a bore formed in a housing member,
- placing an anti-galling second metal which metallurgically wets said housing member and said tube in said fenestrations to fill said fenestrations, and
- then machining the cylindrical surface of said right cylindrical bearing tube in said housing member to a predetermined dimension, forming thereby a composite bearing surface being characterized by a pattern of alternating areas of anti-galling metal and relatively harder wear-resisting metal within its working surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.