Boulden Reliability Report
Introduction to US Synthetic Diamond Bearings
US Synthetic Diamond Bearings
In a recent bulletin, we highlighted Boulden's new partnership with US Synthetic diamond bearings. Today, we’ll take a brief look at what these bearings are, their advantages, and where you can consider using them.

What is a synthetic diamond bearing?
US Synthetic diamond bearings are made with a series of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearing pads, which are formed, placed, and polished on both the rotor and stator of the bearing. The result is either radial or axial bearings which run smoothly on polished diamond surfaces.

Advantages of PCD bearings
US Synthetic bearings offer extremely long service life. Key features of PCD in a bearing application are:
  • Outstanding  abrasion and wear resistant diamond surfaces
  • Excellent fracture toughness
  • High thermal conductivity
  • Low coefficient of friction

All of these properties combined result in a bearing that avoids galling or seizing in operation, rapidly dissipates heat, and can operate from 10 to 10,000 rpm, whether surfaces are in direct contact, partially separated, or fully separated by fluid film.
US Synthetic combination radial/axial bearing
Where to use US Synthetic bearings?
US Synthetic bearings can be applied in nearly any product-lubricated bearing application, whether clean or extremely abrasive. Some typical examples where these bearings have been used in process plants include:

PCD has broad chemical resistance and can be used from cryogenic temperatures to well over 400 C (750 F). US Synthetic bearings can be configured to a wide range of diameter and length, combined with axial or radial arrangement. If you think about the machines in your plant where you would like to extend the life of a product lubricated bearing, there are likely several areas where US Synthetic can be a great solution.

Contact Boulden
If you have an application for US Synthetic bearings you would like to discuss, contact Boulden. Working with US Synthetic, we will supply a fully designed bearing, custom made for your application.
This month's photo: Les Vosges
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