Research
Timken Research has three areas of technology responsibilities:
- research - bearings and steel
- bearing product and process development
- steel product and process development
These three areas combine to support The Timken Company and its customer
base worldwide. The Timken Research facility is located near the company's
Canton, Ohio headquarters. The facility is approximately 250,000 square
feet and houses professional and technical staff of 300. An annual budget
of $50 million supports the technology activities of both the Bearing and
Steel Businesses.
A complete range of manufacturing processes is available within Timken
Research, including a tool room, heat treatment, steel making (rolling
mill) and prototype bearing manufacturing. Specialized laboratories are
dedicated to the sciences of metrology, electronics and lubrication/tribology.
A technical library supports all research efforts. CAD, FEA (finite element
analysis) modeling and advanced bearing design are also performed within
the facilities.
Testing equipment is continually used to test bearing products from all
Timken Company manufacturing facilities to ensure Timken quality standards
are maintained. Customer application simulation testing, plus testing for
new products and processes are performed.
Research:
Key Component of Timken Company Leadership
The Timken Company maintains a formidable
research and development capability that
combines strength in fundamental science
with a solid base of practical knowledge.
The goal of Timken Research is mastery of
every technical development that might
lead to improved products and processes.
The result is a constantly expanding
capability in those areas.
To sustain our global leadership in tapered
roller bearings and specialty alloy steels,
research is conducted on three distinct levels:
- basic investigation
- applied research
- advanced product and process design.
In Timken Research laboratories, these three
levels of research operate sequentially to
transform scientific knowledge into advanced
products and processes our customers must have
to maintain their own leadership positions.
Solving a new problem sometimes calls for
basic research into the scientific fundamentals
of bearing technology or alloy steel production
and processing. In addition, the new understandings
acquired can play a role in the discovery
of new products or process refinements.
Applied research is aimed at focusing the
underlying scientific principles on
meeting customer needs. In many cases,
the primary knowledge and work already have
been accomplished by us or others through emerging
technology. We add the refinements necessary to
transform our understanding into specific
products or processes to solve customer problems.
When the technology is already available, we work
to convert this knowledge into efficient,
innovative production procedures.
We may use existing manufacturing machines
and instruments or we may develop entirely new equipment.
Timken Research solves customer problems and
contributes to the evolving capabilities of The Timken Company.
Development of revolutionary manufacturing processes
has made the company's bearing operations a model of 21st
century technology. And research and development associates
played a leadership role in defining technologies for
the Faircrest Steel Plant, which produces the finest
quality alloy steel available anywhere in the world.
Spurred by a corporate culture that demands continual
effort to find a better way, the talented and dedicated
people of Timken Research deliver the products and
processes required for success in the highly
competitive markets of today and tomorrow.
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