Corrosion-resistant plastic ball bearings reduce system cost, enhance performance, reduce weight and lengthen life in hostile environments. So it's no surprise that the plastic-ball-bearing industry has recently expanded applications for the bearings to include jobs that have been traditionally served by steel bearings.
The bearings from Rex Bearing Div., Rexnord Corp., Downers Grove, Ill., are made of a Teflon-woven fabric supported by a filament-wound fiberglass shell.
Air bearings for linear applications, segmented bearings that can be installed into hard-to-reach places, and thermoplastic bearings molded with integral pulleys or gear teeth are just a few of the recent developments from bearing manufacturers.