Pacamor Kubar Bearings (USA) is expanding its line of radial ball bearings to include applications for high-speed medical and dental handpieces. The bearings themselves are manufactured from 440C stainless steel, while a variety of retainer materials are available. Different retainers allow tailoring for particular applications and to ensure quiet, smooth operation coupled with a longer service life. For example, autoclave sterilization involves sustained temperatures in excess of 250°F. Not only lubricants are affected by the heat; retainers can also be gradually damaged by the regular exposure to such temperatures. Pacamor offers polyamide-imide retainers, such as Phenolic (for occasional autoclaving) and Torlon (for frequent autoclaving). Standard crown and ribbon retainers are available for less-demanding applications. For seals and shields, Pacamor is also offering a variety of options, including a patented Teflon / stainless steel shield. The company uses premium food-safe and autoclave-resistant grease. Augustine Sperrazza, Pacamor CEO, said, "Bearing life is a critical factor in the performance of a quality dental or medical handpiece. Increasing the bearing life while maintaining a cost-competitive position, coupled with prompt delivery, creates a total product package that is highly advantageous to today's medical tool developers and users." Pacamor noted that full shoulder radial bearings allow for disassembly of the bearing during installation and handling, while allowing some flexibility in terms of design and assembly. Semi-custom and full-custom designs are also available -- from flanges to lubricant-control grooves, to o-ring housings to different materials. Initially, Pacamor is offering radials only. The company will add angular contact ball bearings, "when we feel we can offer then competitively." They are, "rolling out this product launch with care." In the United States, moving into these high-speed precision bearings puts Pacamor into head-to-head direct competition with much larger competitors. For example, Timken's high-speed and super precision bearing business has long serviced the medical and dental handpiece market -- via MPB or Miniature Precision Bearing, and Timken's wholly-owned Handpiece Headquarters service centers. NSK, SKF, and others are also competitors in this market. eBearing asked Pacamor about delving into a market segment dominated by these competitors. Pacamor spokesperson, Nancy Cogliandro, pointed out, "Pacamor is a much smaller company than other domestic manufacturers ... we are a private company and are wholly American-owned and operated. The entire management team is available for our customers any time. Because of these differences, we can offer more aggressive lead times and deeper attention to the order, from Quote through Production and Shipment." "Our factory has space available, in contrast to many other manufacturers. Thus, we are able to respond to customer shortages or increases in demand relatively quickly," she said. Finally, Ms. Cogliandro said, "The markets handled by the larger players are somewhat different than ours. The larger manufacturers position themselves to own the market. There is room for Pacamor Kubar Bearings -- a smaller, leaner, high quality manufacturer, who can offer aggressive and predictable lead times at competitive prices."