Manufactured in the unique ToughMet® alloy and developed by Materion in the USA, BowMet® has arrived. Here’s a quick Q&A on how to get the best for your business:
What should I use it for?
With a static load of 820 N/mm2 and an impressive PV value of 9.6 MPa x m/s, it is ideally suited to a wide range of harsh industrial applications, including mining and quarrying, heavy construction, motorsport, offshore oil and gas, materials handling and marine.
It even has the ability to withstand corrosion such as hydrogen embrittlement and chloride stress corrosion cracking, particularly when compared with traditional copper-based alloys.
What about the wastage?
The rolling process ensures virtually no wastage and unrivalled flexibility with no minimum quantity, which makes BowMet® highly versatile. This also makes it the cost effective solution our customers have been searching for, as previously, bearings made from ToughMet® had to be machined from solid bar or thick-walled tube, which could mean as much as 75% material wastage.
What variety is available?
The bearings are available as plain or flanged in a variety of standard wall thicknesses from 0.75mm to 3mm or above and are also available in imperial sizes. The range can also be customised to include lubrication grooves, location slots, tabs, holes and pockets, while special and one-off runs can also be produced with minimal or no tooling costs.
What does it mean for me?
The capacity to deliver increased reliability, reduced downtime, fewer warranty claims and lower maintenance costs. All this is in addition to outstanding bearing properties which enable higher loads, higher speeds and combat corrosion.
