2. Mechanical power transmission

2.1 Bearings and rod ends

In mechanical engineering, the pivot connection is often made by means of straight or angular contact bearings, which can be made up of two different rolling elements: balls or rollers. The bearing model presented here covers both types of rolling element. Spherical plain bearings are spherical plain bearings that belong to the family of sliding elements, like bushings. They are often used in linear actuators as connecting elements with the load to be moved, or as anchoring elements with the supporting structure.

Figure 2 illustrates these elementary components.