Machine and equipment manufacturers today are feeling more pressure than ever to reduce costs without sacrificing machine performance — a balancing act difficult to achieve. OEMs often overlook a simple solution that can have a positive, long-term impact on profitability for themselves and their customers, i.e. — the elimination of bearing lubricant.

During the past three decades there has been an evolution in the advancement and use of highly engineered plastics in bearing applications.

This article takes a look at alternative-material, non-metal bearings, and it turns out the first bearings of that type - wood, in this case, were the norm - not an alternative.