[Case Study] Delivery of ADB Bearings to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
ADB bearings have been adopted for equipment used in deep-sea environments.
【Implementation Record: JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)】 Leveraging the feature of being able to use seawater directly as a lubricating medium, ADB has been adopted for equipment used in seawater environments. Traditionally, seals to prevent seawater intrusion and ballast pumps for lubrication and cooling were often necessary, but ADB can utilize seawater itself for lubrication, allowing for the simplification of these mechanisms. As a result, in addition to simplifying the structure, we have successfully reduced torque to about 1/100 of the conventional level.
basic information
<Mechanism and Structure of ADB> The mechanism of ADB ("Autonomous Distributed Rolling Bearings") is very simple. There are small "indentations" where the balls of the outer ring make contact. In a conventional bearing, the balls roll directly beneath the axis, but in ADB, due to the indentations provided in the outer ring, the balls roll slightly offset from directly underneath. As a result, even when the balls make a complete rotation, the distance they travel is shorter. This causes the balls to slightly decelerate when passing through the indentations and to accelerate again after passing through. Furthermore, behind the accelerated balls, the following balls are still decelerating, creating small gaps between the balls. By utilizing this principle, ADB naturally separates the balls without the need for a retainer.
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- Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Adopted for the wheelchair of the Japanese national wheelchair rugby team (won bronze medal) - Paris 2024 Paralympics: Adopted for the wheelchair of the Japanese national wheelchair rugby team (won gold medal) (Scheduled to be adopted for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics as well) - Recorded 1.68 million views and 1,380 comments on YouTube (as of October 2026) - Kawasaki Entrepreneur Audition: Won the Entrepreneur Award - Invention Grand Prize: Won the Invention Encouragement Award - Nikkei Monozukuri: Featured in an 8-page special article - Various patents obtained
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Self-regulating decentralized rolling bearing
Applications/Examples of results
<Aerospace Field> ■Delivery Record: JAXA ADB has been adopted for equipment used in harsh environments, such as attitude control for satellites requiring long lifespans, thrust vector control for rockets requiring vibration resistance, and rotors for Mars drones requiring high-speed rotation. <Marine Research Field> ■Delivery Record: JAMSTEC Leveraging the characteristic of being able to use seawater directly as a lubricant, ADB has been adopted for equipment used in seawater environments. <Machine Tools, Robots, and Canning Field> ■Delivery Record: OSG, DMG Mori Seiki Thanks to ADB's ability to rotate with low torque, it contributed to increasing the speed to 30,000 rpm, approximately 2.5 times faster than conventional methods. It is also utilized for improving the efficiency of robotic movements and reducing takt time. <Energy Field> ■Delivery Record: Railway Technical Research Institute, Wind Power Generation Related Companies ADB has been adopted as a touchdown bearing used in the event of magnetic bearing failure. <Automotive and Engine Field> ■Delivery Record: Toyota Motor Corporation, among others A design report for ADB capable of high-speed rotation conditions of 180,000 rpm with a shaft diameter of 33 mm was delivered for turbochargers, which are particularly exposed to harsh environments among automotive parts.
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