Japanese bearing manufacturer NTN Corporation has announced the development of a new bearing material with similar or improved sliding performance to that of bronze sintered bearings. The new bearing incorporates a copper layer on the surface, formed by adding a small quantity of a unique copper powder to sintered iron.

Sintered bearings are generally widely used in automobiles and office equipment, with the bearing material categorized as iron-based or bronze-based. Applications that require bearings with a high level of sliding performance, including automotive electrical components such as power window and fan motors, or photocopiers or laser printers, are made of bronze materials.

With the increase in the price of copper in recent years, there has been greater demand for sintered bearings made of materials that can be used as a substitute for bronze bearings. NTN’s newly developed “BEARPHITE CL” is an iron-based sintered bearing with a small quantity of unique copper powder, and special material composition to form a specially designed copper layer on the bearing surface.

Being an iron-based bearing, the new bearing has a higher material strength than bronze bearings, as well as outstanding wear-resistance.

NTN states that is has begun offering the bearing to manufacturers of automobile electrical components and office equipment, and aims to market the bearing extensively in the automotive and industrial sectors.

BEARPHITE CL compared to conventional bearings