Letter from the President, April 2024

April 19, 2024

To our valued NES customers and associates,

Whether you’re a competitive athlete or an elite business, becoming a champion requires developing and following a process. NES has been at the forefront of developing the bearing qualification process for both the industrial and aerospace industry for 27 years. Over that time, we have honed our skills and processes for supporting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in their quest to evaluate the global bearing supply chain. We have also been a major contributor to the aerospace industry by performing reverse engineering of type certified bearings in support of FAA-PMA (Parts Manufacturer Approval) to increase the supply of appropriate quality bearings for maintenance, repair and overhaul activities. There is a specific process for performing this type of work and we discuss it in this month’s feature article. 

We also share some insights about the static safety factor for ball bearings from ISO 76. Although ISO 76 focuses on calculation of the static load rating, it also covers the static safety factor. It’s interesting to note that the static safety thresholds are based on the dynamic conditions of operation. As a bearing design engineer, one final check during the approval of the final selection of the bearing size should be to evaluate if you are meeting the static safety factor given the dynamic nature of the application as provided in ISO 76.

Over the next month, we’ll be participating in Vertical Flight Society (VFS) 80 in Montreal, Quebec, the Space Tech Expo, in Long Beach, Calif. and the STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn.  We will have various NES staff at each site.

Run fast!

Best Regards,

Chris Napoleon

President and Chief Engineer

Napoleon Engineering Services