Deep groove ball bearing donation: findling Wälzlager supports Akaflieg Karlsruhe

“We like supporting good ideas from young talent, especially when it comes to initiatives at the university I graduated from myself,” says Klaus Findling, Findling Wälzlager GmbH’s Managing Director. “We are happy to be able to contribute to bringing the new glider to the skies soon.” Akaflieg is a group of students in Karlsruhe who do research and development work in the field of aviation and space travel. Their latest project is a tailless glider called AK-X, a so-called “flying wing.”

The goal of the AK-X project is to research the flight mechanics of flying wings and to develop a design that only aims for good flight performance but also has such smooth and simple flight characteristics that even less experienced pilots can fly it without any problems. Having the right materials is important here. For example, particularly durable fiber composite materials are used for the aircraft’s wings. For the above reason, the fibers, referred to as rovings, are produced in a special roving drawing machine for the spar, the load-bearing component of a wing. This is where Findling’s deep-groove ball bearings come into play. They support the machine’s rollers, thereby contributing to the optimum quality of the material.

“We rely on sponsors when working on our projects,” says Andreea Tulbure, a member of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology’s Academic Aviators group [Akademische Fliegergruppe]. “That’s why we’re very thankful for the support, but also because we’ve heard a lot of good things about the quality of Findling’s deep-groove ball bearings.” Roller bearings are among the components that are required particularly often when designing lightweight aircraft. In the prototype of the AK-X itself, the researchers plan on installing 100 bearings. In addition to this, there are the considerable quantities that are used in the machines to produce the parts. All the better that Akaflieg has found a reliable regional partner in Findling Wälzlager.

The Akaflieg glider is not the first project Findling Wälzlager has sponsored. In the past, the company has supported theses at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences and was also involved in Formula E. Findling Wälzlager is particularly thrilled to help regional projects. For example, the weather vane on the St. Nikolaus parish church in Bellheim got a new ball bearing for free as part o the church’s renovation in 2014.