Thrust bearings

[cannibal.horse]

A local manufacturer has recently added 'thrust bearings' to their 1500lb power bars.

What exactly are these and what advantages do they hold for your average powerbar?

Thanks rip.

[Mark Rippetoe]

They add thrust, I suppose.

[mstrofbass]

http://tinyurl.com/24ykxvx

[dred807]

Thrust bearings are used to deal with an axial load under rotation (think of a propeller shaft, force generated is transmitted along the axis). I can't really think of any normal situation that would place a barbell to be under axial loading.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I can't either. And bushings have worked just fine for a good while.

[TrackJunkie]

Perhaps they're for steinborns and failed lifts?

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Maybe they're these bad-boys (from the link above):

"Fluid-film thrust bearings were invented by Australian engineer George Michell (pronounced Mitchell) who patented his invention in 1905. Michell bearings contain a number of sector-shaped pads, arranged in a circle around the shaft, and which are free to pivot. These create wedge-shaped regions of oil inside the bearing between the pads and a rotating disk, which support the applied thrust and eliminate metal-on-metal contact.
Michell's invention was notably applied to the thrust block in ships. The small size (one-tenth the size of old bearing designs), low friction and long life of Michell's invention made possible the development of more powerful engines and propellers. They were used extensively in ships built during World War I, and have become the standard bearing used on turbine shafts in ships and power plants worldwide."

They sound oiliciously spin-o-rific.

How about dropping the name of said barbell manufacturer so we can investigate, OP?

[Dragar]

Bearings are for force transmission, not protection against impact. Sounds like an unnecessary feature to drive the price up

[MazdaMatt]

Perhaps they're for steinborns and failed lifts?

You aren't trying to spin the bar when you're doing a steinborn lift. Thurst bearings aren't to support a load on the end of a shaft, they are to allow it to spin.

Perhaps they are designed for sales and marketting? (ie, complete bullshit to sell bars).

[DanO_123]

Maybe you could add a compressor wheel to one end and a turbine wheel to the other and have a really huge turbo charger shaft?