THE USE OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY TO MANUFACTURE SLIDE BEARING SLEEVES – A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Abstract

The paper presents the application of an unconventional method of manufacturing bearing sleeves as well as the carrying out of preliminary research in which the manufactured components were used on a real object. Additive manufacturing methods are increasingly being used, which leads to the rapid development of technologies and their applications. The MultiJet Printing technology was used in the research, which allows precise 3D printing of sleeves made of polymeric materials. The first part of the article deals with the selected manufacturing method and the preparation of a model. The study aimed at evaluating the usefulness of bearings manufactured using the 3D printing technology to support slow-speed rotors. The preliminary research described focuses on the study of operating parameters such as the moment of friction and the bearing node temperature as a function of rotational speed during operation. Experimental tests were carried out at low rotational speeds. This paper presents and determines the scope of the application of bearings manufactured using 3D printing technology.