Having grown to be one of the most significant manufacturers of super precision roller bearings in the world, Gamet Bearings celebrates 50 years of UK manufacturing.
Gamet Bearings is celebrating 50 years of manufacturing in the UK.

Established in Colchester to manufacture bearings for the thriving Colchester Lathes company in 50 years it has grown to be one of the most significant manufacturers of super precision roller bearings in the world.
Having secured its initial customer, it sought additional customers and began supplying precision bearings to some of the great names in British manufacturing of the fifties and sixties - Colchester Lathe Company, Binns and Berry, Churchill Machine Tools, Dean Smith and Grace, The Elliot Machine Tool Group, The Herbert Group, Keithly Grinders to name but a few.
The machines were shipped world-wide, opening up for Gamet a world-market initially in spares and then for bearings themselves.
A distributor network - which still operates now as it did then - was created.
The company now has a wide range of customers including those manufacturing milling machines, lathes, grinding machines, textile machinery, food canning equipment, roll grinders for steel works, printing and coating machines as well as other applications where high rotational accuracy is required.
70% of its products are exported to over 40 countries, supplying OEMs both direct and through a world-wide network of distributors.
Of the remaining 30% of it products, 15% are supplied to sister companies in 600 Group (including Colchester and Harrison lathes) and the remaining 15% to other UK manufacturers.
Customers include Jones and Shipman, Coborn Engineering, Danobat, Emag Karstens, Huron, Kellenburger, Maho, Matrix Machine Tools, HMT, Voumard, Weiler and many more.
Gamet Bearings has always concentrated on supplying the highest quality bearings for those applications where quality is the paramount consideration, for instance it provides super precision bearings with a rotational accuracy better than Abec 9/Timken 00, the highest quality standard.
It is certified to ISO 9001: 2000.
All its bearings are manufactured under controlled conditions, using equipment designed to ensure that the product has absolute geometric accuracy and rigorous dimensional precision.
Machines on which final operations are performed operate at constant temperature in a controlled, dust?free atmosphere maintained at 60-65% humidity.
Core product, and the one for which Gamet is best known, is the super precision tapered roller bearings.
It also manufactures Ballscrew cartridges, Ballscrew Blocks and precision rotating centres and provides a design/manufacturing service for customers with special applications.
Tapered roller bearings provide a long line of contact between roller and race, giving a high load carrying capacity and high bearing stiffness.
Single row bearings are suited to light/medium load applications.
The single row 'C' type has a flanged outer race which locates the shaft axially.
The double row 'G' type is a heavy duty, double row bearing with a plain outer race, which allows it to be used in a floating position to accommodate thermal expansion.
Double row 'H' type is a heavy duty, double row bearing with a flanged outer race which locates the shaft axially.
Constant pre-load 'P' type is a single row bearing with an extended outer race housing up to 24 springs.
The design enables the bearing to float axially during different machining cycles and temperature conditions whilst the springs ensure that a constant pre-load is applied at all times.
The range of super precision tapered roller bearings extends from 25mm bore up to 500mm bore.
Super precision rotational accuracy is better than Abec 9/Timken 00, to give increased accuracy in the machine.
The high radial and axial load capability of the bearings allows higher stock removal rates without loss of accuracy.
Radial run-out on the bore is within 1.5 micron for standard grade, 1 micron for the Q grade and 0.5 micron for the QK grade.
Axial run-out is 3 micron for all grades.
Central to Gamet's success throughout its half century of trading has been its commitment to innovation and development as well as the highest possible manufacturing standards.
Following extensive testing with new lubricants, higher operating speeds of typically 30% above those commonly accepted for tapered roller bearings have been achieved with operating temperatures of only 10 deg C above ambient, thus improving spindle performance and extending bearing life.
One of the most recently introduced improvements is a new, lightweight stainless steel roller cage.
This reduces inertia, oil churning, and surface contact with the rollers.
The results are lower friction, reduced heat generation resulting in improved performance and durability, ideal for machine tools which are subject to radial and axial load at higher speeds.