Schatz designs and manufactures custom aerospace bearings for flight and spaceflight.
Bearings are critical to the overall performance of aerospace systems. Component reliability is essential, but flight control systems, satellite optics, and tracking systems must also withstand extreme environments with challenges ranging from fast-changing aerodynamic loads to high-vacuum thermal fluctuations.
Standard off-the-shelf components often fail to meet these demanding parameters. That’s why aerospace and defense OEMs specify custom aerospace bearings and high-precision aircraft bearings engineered to exact mission specifications. Industry-leading OEMs have a choice of suppliers, but they’re looking for a true design and manufacturing partner.
At Schatz Bearing Corporation, we specialize in overcoming complex mechanical challenges with custom-engineered bearings made with high precision. As a division of Arxis Inc., a family of companies supplying mission-critical electronic and mechanical components to the aerospace and defense sectors, Schatz pairs specialized manufacturing agility with deep engineering capabilities.
Collaborative Engineering and Problem Solving
Selecting the right bearing requires a detailed understanding of the system because bearings need the right design to meet capacity, bearing life, torque, stiffness, and accuracy requirements. Schatz’s engineering team collaborates with your designers from initial concept through flight qualification. Instead of forcing a standard part into a specialized assembly, our engineers analyze your application in-depth to identify your operating parameters.
This includes:
- Dynamic & Static Loads: Designing for maximum fatigue life and proper bearing static capabilities.
- Envelope & Weight Restrictions: Integrating compact thin section bearings to conserve payload weight without sacrificing stiffness.
- Extreme Environments: Specifying proper materials, such as CREN stainless steel.
Whether designing for high accuracy for sensitive optical systems or determining the highest capacity in an envelope for highly loaded airframe applications, Schatz operates as an extension of your engineering department to solve critical challenges.
Versatile Capabilities for Custom Aerospace Bearings
At our Made in USA manufacturing facility in Poughkeepsie, New York, Schatz manufactures high-precision bearings with tolerances measured in millionths of an inch – and in accordance with our AS9100D and ISO9001:2015 certified quality system. This includes precision bearings with up to ABEC 7 ratings.
We offer an expansive size range and broad configuration portfolio:
- Size Range: Bores starting just under 0.200” up to 14” outer diameter (OD).
- Precision Levels: Up to ABEC 7 / 7F precision standards for low-torque, running accuracy.
- Configurations: Radial, angular contact, duplex preloaded pairs, four-point contact, self-aligning, thin section, and custom seal configurations.
- Regulatory Compliance: Made in the USA, ITAR-registered, and compliant with DFARS standards.
Our high-performance aircraft bearings and aerospace bearings are proven across critical applications:
- Aviation & Airframe Systems: Primary flight control actuation (flaps, slats, spoilers), drive systems, airframe control, and horizontal stabilizers.
- Defense & Optical Platforms: Gimbal systems, military targeting pods, radar platforms, and countermeasures.
- Space Mechanisms: Space bearings for satellite pointing mechanisms, deployment systems, space telescopes, and robotic mechanisms.
Rapid Prototyping and Reliable Lead Times
Tight program schedules require responsive manufacturing partners. Schatz combines American-made precision with agile development cycles to help customers meet aggressive project milestones and overcome supply chain bottlenecks. When your design demands custom aerospace bearings with high precision and verified reliability, contact us and talk to our engineering team.