Fafnir Bearing

Last updated

The Fafnir Bearing Company was a major American manufacturer of ball bearings.

Contents

History

The company was founded in New Britain, Connecticut on March 8, 1911, by Howard Stanley Hart. [1] Fafnir was acquired by Textron in 1968. In 1988, Textron's Fafnir Bearing division was acquired by the Torrington Company, which in turn sold it in 1998 to the Timken Company, which still markets ball bearings under the Fafnir brand.

During the Second World War, the 7,000 workers at Fafnir's 600,000 square foot factory in the center of New Britain turned out 100 ball bearings per minute. [2] By 1946, Fafnir was the largest independent manufacturer of ball bearings in the United States, with exports to Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the South Pacific. [3] Equipment manufactured at the Fafnir factory in New Britain traveled to the Moon on Apollo 11. [4]

Related Research Articles

Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviation, commercial, and military aircraft, ranging from light single-engined aircraft to twin-engined turboprop transports, business jets, and military trainers. Beech later became a division of Raytheon and then Hawker Beechcraft before a bankruptcy sale turned its assets over to Textron. It remains a brand of Textron Aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SKF</span> Worlds largest bearing manufacturer

AB SKF is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products, condition monitoring systems and related services globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearing (mechanical)</span> Mechanism to constrain relative movement to the desired motion and reduce friction

A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.

<i>Hartford Courant</i> Daily newspaper in Connecticut, US

The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury, its headquarters on Broad Street in Hartford, Connecticut is a short walk from the state capitol. It reports regional news with a chain of bureaus in smaller cities and a series of local editions. It also operates CTNow, a free local weekly newspaper and website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bottom bracket</span> Bicycle component

The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset (chainset) to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely. It contains a spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the bearings that allow the spindle and crankset to rotate. The chainrings and pedals attach to the cranks. Bottom bracket bearings fit inside the bottom bracket shell, which connects the seat tube, down tube and chain stays as part of the bicycle frame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textron</span> American industrial conglomerate

Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation, and Lycoming Engines. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company. In 2020, Textron employed over 33,000 people in 25 different countries. The company ranked 265th on the 2021 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue.

The Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products. Timken operates from 42 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZF Sachs</span> German family business

ZF Sachs AG, also known as Fichtel & Sachs, was founded in Schweinfurt in 1895 and was a well-known German family business. At its last point as an independent company, the company name was Fichtel & Sachs AG.

The Royal Typewriter Company is a manufacturer of typewriters founded in January 1904. It was headquartered in New York City with its factory in Hartford, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ball Corporation</span> American aerospace and metal food and beverage container manufacturer

Ball Corporation is an American company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. It is best known for its early production of glass jars, lids, and related products used for home canning. Since its founding in Buffalo, New York, in 1880, when it was known as the Wooden Jacket Can Company, the Ball company has expanded and diversified into other business ventures, including aerospace technology. It eventually became the world's largest manufacturer of recyclable metal beverage and food containers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MinebeaMitsumi</span> Japanese multinational corporation

MinebeaMitsumi, Inc. is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of mechanical components and electronic devices. The company's headquarters are located in Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato, Tokyo, and its registered office is located in Miyota, Nagano. The company was founded as Minebea Co., Ltd. in 1951. As of June 30, 2019, MinebeaMitsumi comprises 121 consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates. NMB (USA) Inc. is an American holding company that manages Minebea's American subsidiaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schaeffler Group</span> German bearings manufacturer

Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, also known as Schaeffler Group, is a German manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace and industrial uses. It was founded in 1946 by brothers Dr. Wilhelm and Dr.-Ing. E. h. Georg Schaeffler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrington Company</span> Bearing company

The Torrington Company was a firm that developed in Torrington, Connecticut, emerging as a rename from the Excelsior Needle Company. It used a "cold swaging" technique to create sewing machine needles and other needles from cold metal, and was the largest employer in Torrington. in addition to its main facilities in Torrington, it acquired a division, located in South Bend, Indiana.

Barden Corporation is a ball bearing manufacturer based in Danbury, Connecticut, USA with factories in Danbury, Winsted, Connecticut and in Plymouth, England. It previously had factories in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Haverhill, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NTN Corporation</span> Japanese manufacturer of bearings

NTN Corporation is one of the most prominent manufacturers of bearings in Japan, second domestically only to NSK Ltd. The company is one of the largest exporters worldwide of friction-reducing products such as constant-velocity joints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Bearing Company</span>

Pacific Bearing Company, dbaPBC Linear and PBC Lineartechnik GmbH, is a manufacturer and distributor of plain bearings, linear guides and custom machined parts.

Auburn Bearing & Manufacturing is a designer and manufacturer of ball and roller thrust bearings and custom machined components and is owned and operated in the small town of Macedon in Upstate New York. Founded in 1898, Auburn Bearing is one of the oldest continuously operating thrust ball bearing manufacturers in the United States. Auburn Bearing & Manufacturing is most known for its line of thrust bearings that incorporate a "V" groove raceway, historically known as the "Auburn Groove," which is specifically designed to reduce rolling friction by containing the ball bearings with four points of contact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ransome & Marles</span>

Ransome & Marles Bearing Company Limited was the owner of a business making ball and roller bearings founded during the First World War to make bearings for aircraft and other engines. Before the war most bearings had been imported and most of those were from Germany.

Lewis Rasmus Heim was an American machinist and businessman who was the inventor of the Centerless Cylindrical Grinder, the Heim Joint Rod End Bearing and a pioneer of modern spherical, ball and roller bearings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Vierira</span> American baseball player

Justin Alves Vierira, nicknamed "Chris" and also known as "Justin Joseph Lópes", was an American Negro league outfielder in the 1940s.

References

  1. "One City's Story: Family Ties, Invention Made New Britain the Hardware Capital". Hartford Courant. 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  2. Daigle, Katy (1996-09-11). "Fafnir's Final Farewell". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  3. "Last of Fafnir Plants to be Auctioned Off". Hartford Courant. 1992-02-01. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  4. Daigle, Katy (1996-09-11). "Fafnir's Final Farewell". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2023-04-17.

"Fafnir Bearing Co". New Britain Industrial Museum. Retrieved 2023-04-17.