Bearing surface

A bearing surface is a mechanical engineering term that refers to the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications.

On a screw the bearing area loosely refers to the underside of the head.^[1] Strictly speaking, the bearing area refers to the area of the screw head that directly bears on the part being fastened.^[2]

For a cylindrical bearing it is the projected area perpendicular to the applied force.^[3]

On a spring the bearing area refers to the amount of area on the top or bottom surface of the spring in contact with the constraining part.^[4]

The ways of machine tools, such as dovetail slides, box ways, prismatic ways, and other types of machine slides are also bearing surfaces.

See also

• Babbitt, an alloy that covers a bearing surface

References

1. Smith 1990, p. 38.
2. Fastener terms, retrieved 2009-06-29.
3. Low & Bevis 1908, p. 115.
4. Helical Compression Spring Terminology, retrieved 2009-06-29.

Bibliography

• Low, David Allan; Bevis, Alfred William (1908), Manual of machine drawing and design (Revised ed.), Longmans, Green, and co.
• Smith, Carroll (1990), Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners, and Plumbing Handbook, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, ISBN 0-87938-406-9.