Kamatics

Kamatics makes self-lubricating bearings and related engineered components for aerospace, defense, marine and industrial customers. It is headquartered at 1330 Blue Hills Ave, Bloomfield, Connecticut, and is part of Kaman Corporation. The company traces its start to 1966, when Navy SH-2 Sea Sprite rotor flap bearings were failing and Kaman engineers developed a liner material, and in 1973 it created the KAron liner system.

Products

• Spherical and link bearings with KAron self-lubricating liners, including rod end bearings, for engines, landing gear and flight control assemblies
• Bushings and journal bearings for hard-to-reach locations where scheduled lubrication is impractical
• Track rollers and needle rollers
• Flexible drive systems: KAflex drive couplings and main drive shafts for rotorcraft and fixed wing aircraft
• Special and low friction systems built on its self-lubricating surface technologies
• P54 and KAron wear strips, in standard sizes or custom-cut profiles
• Titanium diffusion hardening for bearing surfaces

Applications

• Commercial and military helicopters: rotor, damper, swash plate, pitch control and flight control systems
• Commercial fixed wing aircraft: landing gear, doors, flight control and stabilizers
• Engines: turbines, cowlings, doors, thrust reversers and nacelles, with high-temperature KAron variants rated up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit
• Space vehicles and satellites, using low-outgassing KAron formulations
• Marine and hydropower systems

Engineering

Kamatics says it has more than 35 design engineers and a test laboratory, and offers custom bearing design, prototyping and testing. KAron is described as a moldable, machinable liner made from PTFE and other fillers in a polyester resin system. Standard KAron is rated from minus 65 to plus 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Certifications and approvals

• AS9100D
• FAA repair station and EASA approvals, as listed on the site
• NADCAP accreditation for chemical processing and non-destructive testing
• ITAR compliant, with products made in the USA