Bearing surface

A bearing surface in mechanical engineering is the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications. The choice of bearing surface depends on the application, load, speed, and operating conditions, and the design must be able to withstand high loads, resist wear and corrosion, and operate at high speeds.

On a screw, the bearing area loosely refers to the underside of the head.^[1] Strictly speaking, the bearing area refers to the area of the screw head that directly bears on the part being fastened.^[2]

For a cylindrical bearing, it is the projected area perpendicular to the applied force.^[3]

On a spring, the bearing area refers to the amount of area on the top or bottom surface of the spring in contact with the constraining part.^[4]

The ways of machine tools, such as dovetail slides, box ways, prismatic ways, and other types of machine slides are also bearing surfaces.

1. ^ Smith 1990, p. 38.
2. ^ Fastener terms, archived from the original on 2008-11-02, retrieved 2009-06-29.
3. ^ Low & Bevis 1908, p. 115.
4. ^ Helical Compression Spring Terminology, archived from the original on 2010-11-01, retrieved 2009-06-29.

Bibliography

[edit]

• Low, David Allan; Bevis, Alfred William (1908), Manual of machine drawing and design (Revised ed.), Longmans, Green, and co.
• Smith, Carroll (1990), Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, ISBN 0-87938-406-9.

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