A composite material having an alloy matrix including titanium, aluminum, niobium, manganese, boron, and carbon is disclosed. The composite material includes, by atomic percentage, 40.0% to 50.0% Al, 1.0% to 8.0% Nb, 0.5% to 2.0% Mn, 0.1% to 2.0% B, and 0.01% to 0.2% C. The composite material is doped with a solid lubricant such as MoS.sub.2, ZnO, CuO, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), WS.sub.2, AgTaO.sub.3, CuTaO.sub.3, CuTa.sub.2O.sub.6, or combinations thereof. Components composed of the composite material exhibit increased ductility at room temperature and reduced fracture tendency, resulting in improved durability.

A thrust ball bearing retainer a large size of bearings with the bearing raceways being modified using a surface enhancement process such as hard anodizing coating, which provides low friction coefficient and initial wear rate. The retainer material is selected to be molded, synthetic resin, self-lubricated material reinforced with carbon fiber, molybdenum disulfide, and PTPE. This lubrication system eliminates the thermal induced bearing torque effect due to viscosity. The retainer contains multiply segments with an inner race guided configuration, an alternative ball pocket cross section design and a ball pocket slotted configuration (1) to reduce the thermal induced effects due to coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the raceway and the retainer material (2) to enhance the producibility of the retainer due to out-of-round, out-of-flatness and torsional wrap, and (3) to reduce the manufacturing cost. The pocket design with an oval cross section instead of a circular cross section also reduces the localized thermal induced effect which would otherwise result in a pinching condition between the ball and the retainer. The alternative slotted retainer pocket design is used to increase the compliance between ball/pocket interfaces, which helps to reduce the dynamic induced effects. The ends of the retainer segments are designed to reduce the interactive transferring, circumferential force between two adjacent segments.

A method is provided that forms a solid film on a bearing component of a rolling bearing. A solution containing a fluorine compound and a lubricant having no functional group is allowed to adhere to the bearing component as a liquid film, the fluorine compound containing 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate, hexafluoropropene, and methyl methacrylate as components. The solid film is formed on the at least one of the bearing components by hardening the adhering liquid film.

A method is provided that forms a solid film on a bearing component of a rolling bearing. A solution containing a fluorine compound and a lubricant having no functional group is allowed to adhere to the bearing component as a first liquid film (adhesion step). The adhering first liquid film is hardened to form the solid film on the bearing component. The rolling bearing including the bearing component with the solid film formed thereon is rotated. The rolling bearing is washed in a washer fluid containing the same lubricant as that used in the adhesion step, and the washer fluid is allowed to adhere to the bearing component as a second liquid film. Then, the adhering second liquid film is dried.

Inventive manufacture of CrB.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3 composites is based on pressureless sintering. According to typical inventive practice, CrB.sub.2 powder and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 powder are mixed together in selected volumetric proportions so that the volume of the CrB.sub.2 does not exceed 50% of the overall volume of the CrB.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3 mixture. The CrB.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3 mixture is shaped into a green body. The green body is pressureless sintered in a non-oxidizing atmosphere at a firing temperature in the approximate range between 1600° C. and 2050° C. The present invention succeeds in preparing, via pressureless sintering, a proportionality-associated range of compositions in the CrB.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3 system, which is a potentially “advanced” ceramic system. A typical inventively fabricated CrB.sub.2—Al.sub.2O.sub.3 composite is inventively configured in a complex shape, and has “advanced” material (e.g., mechanical) properties that are favorable for a contemplated application. Inventive manufacture of ceramic-ceramic composites is thus dually attributed, and uncommonly so, with complex shape-ability and advanced capability.

Disclosed herein is a sliding member, such as a sliding bearing, including a resin overlay layer having improved conformability. The sliding member includes a bearing alloy layer and a resin overlay layer formed on the bearing alloy layer, wherein the resin overlay layer includes a solid lubricant phase, a binder resin phase, and a cushion phase, and an area ratio of the cushion phase is 0.5% or more but 5.0% or less.

A self-lubricating roller bearing is provided. The roller bearing includes an inner race, an outer race, and a plurality of rollers between the inner and outer races. Each of the inner race and the outer race includes a bearing surface for contact with the rollers. The bearing surface of one or more of the inner race, the outer race, and the rollers has one or more laser hardened areas and one or more non-laser hardened areas arranged in a predetermined pattern. The one or more non-laser hardened areas create dry lubricant for the roller bearing upon wear thereof.

A cage assembly for a bearing including a main body having a plurality of pockets arranged therein, the pockets operatively arranged to hold a plurality of rolling elements, a plurality of first lubrication elements retained within the main body and operatively arranged to contact the rolling elements, a plurality of second lubrication elements substantially similar to the first lubrication elements, arranged diametrically opposite from the first lubrication elements within the main body to contact the rolling elements and a plurality of pre-load members arranged within the main body to compress the first and second pluralities of lubrication elements against the rolling elements.

The present invention aims to provide solid particles with improved lubrication, a solid lubricant including the solid particles, and a metal member including, on the surface thereof, the solid particles or the solid lubricant. The solid particles of the present invention include base particles and carbon fluoride particles attached to surfaces of the base particles.

The present invention provides a lubrication device for coating a lubricant onto the outer circumferential surface of a bearing. A lubrication device comprises a housing and a lubrication member that is accommodated within the housing. A bearing crosses and passes through the lubrication member so that an outer circumferential surface of the bearing comes into contact with an inner surface of the lubrication member, and due to this configuration, it becomes possible for the lubricant to be coated onto the outer circumferential surface of the bearing.