Bowman International’s bearing activities have their roots in the 1970s, with a speciality in plain, Oilite sintered bronze bearings, supplying these through distribution. And while these days they are manufactured overseas, the company has much manufacturing process expertise that it brings to bear, designing manufacturing processes and process control criteria, explains head of additive production Jacob Turner.
The company’s additive manufacturing capability was launched officially in July 2017, following the purchase of a selective laser sintering system that could produce complex geometries from engineering grade polymer materials. At the time, Bowman International managing director Paul Mitchell said: “Our investment into additive manufacturing marks a pivotal point in the future development of the Bowman International name. We are proud innovators within our marketplace and look forward to exploring the new manufacturing possibilities which are now within our remit.” This new operation takes in both an external service and the production of new bearing designs on its own account.
