Self-Aligning Plain Bearings and Rod End Bearings

Abstract

SOUTHWEST Products Co. manufactures two kinds of self-aligning bearings. (1) The self-aligning plain bearing, as produced by Southwest, consists of only two pieces, a spherical ball with a hole for a close tolerance bolt or shaft to pass through, and a one-piece outer race which completely surrounds the spherical ball. The latter can be mounted anywhere in a housing where self-alignment is required for a bolt or shaft, generally a nonrotating shaft. (2) The selfaligning rod end bearing is the Monoball® plain bearing installed in a housing shaped like an eye bolt as the name implies, and in the end of a rod to engage a bolt fastened to a yoke, crevis, or arm. The Monoball® self-aligning is not intended for the antifriction purposes of ball or roller bearings supporting rotating or rpm shafts. They have many applications in various sizes in aircraft or similar structure, especially a moving structure subject to deflections, twists, vibrations, and strains.