The History of Industrial Bearings from Pittsburgh’s Leading Manufacturer

At Bearing Service Company (BSC), we’re proud of our long history serving as the leading source for industrial bearings throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region and beyond. Founded all the way back in 1933, our company has stood amongst Pittsburgh’s premier manufacturers for over 90 years now and counting.

Along the way BSC has evolved with the industry, embracing new innovations in manufacturing processes, materials science, and new bearing designs. To see just how far things have come, let’s take a quick look at when and how bearings were first invented, and a closer look at how industrial bearing manufacturing has progressed over the course of the last century.

A Brief History of Industrial Bearings: The Beginnings

The history of bearings goes back thousands of years. Most historians place the invention of the first bearings around the year 2600 BCE, when the ancient Egyptians used basic roller bearing systems constructed from logs and lubricated with animal fat. These relatively simple bearings allowed them to move huge, heavy stones for construction – the most famous example, of course, being the Great Pyramids.

Another major technological stride came around the year 1500 AD from Leonardo Da Vinci, whom many consider to be the father of the modern ball bearing system. Amongst Da Vinci’s many engineering drawings and inventions were detailed illustrations of a bearing assembly including ball bearings, a ring race, and an internal cage. This basic ball bearing design is still essentially used to this day (though manufactured from many different, more high-tech materials than Da Vinci could have imagined).

Obviously bearing designs and constructions only became more complex over time. The physics and manufacturing behind bearing systems was refined for centuries, culminating in the Industrial Revolution and a whole wealth of new production machinery. By the time BSC was founded in 1933, the groundwork for the modern American bearing industry had been laid.

A Timeline of the American Industrial Bearing Market and BSC:

1933 – The same year that BSC was founded, the Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association (AFBMA) was officially established, with the US ratifying its Articles of Incorporation in 1933. This association helped the American bearing industry collaborate in order to develop, manufacture, and maintain the supply of critical bearing products throughout the World Wars.

1934 – Further establishing the domestic network for industrial bearing products, the AFBMA was officially incorporated in the State of New York the year after the organization’s establishment. BSC begins to grow rapidly, establishing itself as an early leader in this emerging industry.

1939 to 1945 – With the outbreak of World War II, industrial bearing components became more crucial than ever. Much of the newly developed American manufacturing industry relied on bearings to make mass production possible. Many of the emerging military technologies also required precision bearing components – from planes, tanks, and ground support vehicles to machine guns and other high-tech weaponry. BSC rose to the challenges of the emerging industry, cementing our place as one of America’s leading manufacturers of industrial bearings going forward.

1966 – British engineer Duncan Dawson published the most extensive book to date on technical bearing performance and mechanics: Elasto-Hydrodynamic Lubrication. The newly developing elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) theory scientifically explained the ways in which various bearing systems function, facilitating further design advancements and innovations throughout the industry.

1971 – Jacob W. Banks bought and expanded BSC operation into other areas and states. Putting in more than two decades of dedication and craftsmanship, His son Bill worked his way all the way up through the organization, becoming President and CEO in 1993.

2004 – The NASA Gravity Probe B (GP-B) satellite launched in 2004 – the perfect example to showcase state-of-the-art bearing technology. Interestingly, the probe utilized a gyroscopic rotor system to eliminate the friction found in conventional ball bearings. Composed of pure quartz and coated in niobium, these gyroscopic ball components are often touted as the most perfect spheres mankind has ever produced. The surface of each sphere is less than 0.00000003” (three ten-millionths of an inch) from perfect. That’s far more precise than we need to be for any of today’s industrial ball bearing products. Nevertheless, it shows what the modern bearing industry is capable of at the cutting edge.

2006 – ABMA, the Japanese Bearing Industrial Association (JBIA) and the Federation of European Bearing Manufacturers Association (FEBMA) created the World Bearing Association (WBA) to focus on issues affecting the global bearing industry – from supply chain strengthening to sustainability initiatives. Embracing global collaboration, BSC continued to expand its manufacturing and distribution channels, becoming one of the premier American manufacturer and distributor for many of the industry’s major brands.

Leading the American Industrial Bearing Market in Sustainability Since 1933

BSC is one of the nation’s premier supports for virtually all types of industrial bearings. We’ve served the American bearing sector and beyond for more than nine decades, evolving our services alongside the industry to keep pace with emerging innovations and technologies.