Bearings handle medical rigours

Pacamor Kubar Bearings (PKB) has expanded its line of radial ball bearings to include specialised designs for high-speed medical and dental handpieces. The new bearing line offers a variety of retainer materials and designs, which assure the quiet and smooth operation desired by handpiece users. These attributes help promote longer bearing life and wear resistance under the extreme conditions medical bearings typically experience. The postoperative equipment sanitisation process (autoclave) reaches temperatures in excess of 121C, which can lead to the breakdown of many standard lubricants and retainer materials. Daily operational conditions introduce blood and bone fragments into the handpiece assembly, which can contaminate the bearing and cause premature failure of the handpiece. Autoclave resistant Phenolic and Torlon (polyamide-imide) retainers offer flexibility regarding rigors of handpiece maintenance. Phenolic bearing retainers are forgiving under situations where regular handpiece maintenance is less likely and Torlon retainer material offers additional bearing life under frequent autoclave cycles. In addition to the variety of retainers available, the PKB design includes corrosion resistant 440C material and a variety of bearing closures, including a patented seal consisting of Teflon and stainless steel. In addition to high-end retainer and shield designs, PKB standard crown and ribbon retainers round out the offering as an economical solution for less demanding applications. 'Bearing life is a critical factor in the performance of a quality dental or medical handpiece', said Augustine Sperrazza, CEO. 'Increasing the bearing life while maintaining a cost competitive position, coupled with prompt delivery, creates a total product package that is highly advantageous to today's medical tool developers and users'. Radial bearings are user friendly. The full shoulder design prevents disassembly of the bearing during handling and installation. Whereas many designs are unforgiving in the installation process, radial bearings offer additional flexibility if a bearing requires forward or backward installation as a design feature. This flexible assembly feature creates a cost reduction for the bearing installer. Dental and medical bearings are supplied ready for use, lubricated with food-safe and autoclave resistant grease. Proper lubrication is essential to successful bearing performance in demanding applications and PKB uses only high quality, filtered lubricants in its antifriction bearings.