What is the function of the bearing coating in a gearbox?

The sliding layer serves as a bearing. It acts as the functional sliding surface on which, with proper lubrication, a load-bearing lubricating film can form, separating the planetary pin from the mating surface and preventing metal-to-metal contact. This minimizes friction and wear while requiring minimal installation space.

Planetary pins and bearing coating as a complete solution from Miba

If you want to design your system for optimal performance, we offer support starting from the concept phase and ensure that functionality and manufacturability are perfectly aligned from the very beginning - even for quantities as small as one. We guide you step by step, from the concept phase through prototyping to final approval for series production.

Examples of Miba components with directly applied coatings include:

Planetary pins with EMP technology (electromagnetic pulse technology): metallurgically bonded, fully integrated bearing function
Advantage: Heat-affected zone-free coating with high-strength multi-material bonding (e.g., aluminum/copper on steel) - even for very large planetary pins - and, supported by re-coating, enables sustainable, cost- and resource-efficient operation.

You can find more information about electromagnetic pulse technology here: 

EMPT Technology

Planetary pins with LAS technology (laser cladding): Bearing function applied via material bonding
Advantage: Precise and flexible application of bearing material with a strong bond and high adhesion in variable layer thicknesses - material-efficient and requiring minimal post-processing, ideal for custom geometries, small to medium batch sizes and the remanufacturing of components.

Learn more about laser cladding here:

Laser cladding

Wir unterstützen Sie bei der Auswahl der für Ihre Anwendung optimalen Technologie.

Electromagnetic Pulse Technology (EMPT) on customer-supplied shaft bolts
Advantage: 0.5–2 mm sliding coating applied directly to your shaft - perfect dimensional accuracy, reduced tolerance chains, minimal installation space

Laser cladding on customer-supplied planetary pins
Advantage: Flexible coating thicknesses for sliding layers on heavily loaded shafts—high wear resistance even with complex geometries, and minimal post-processing

In addition to coating planetary pins, Miba also offers other coating options, such as sputtering technology for high-precision components or MOTIONCOAT^® for a wide range of substrate materials and component designs. 

What is the advantage of integrating the bearing coating directly onto the planetary pin?

Integrating the sliding bearing function directly onto the component creates a compact and robust solution without the need for separate parts. The sliding layer is precisely applied to the surface of the planetary pin, forming a functionally optimized running surface that expands design freedom and simplifies the overall system configuration. Advantages of integrating the sliding bearing function directly onto the component include:

• More compact design: as the sliding function is integrated into the component and no additional space is required for bearings.
• Weight savings: as fewer individual components reduce the system weight and enable lighter, more efficient designs.
• Reduced assembly effort: as joining operations and additional components are eliminated.
• Scalable technologies: Starting with a batch size of 1—the sliding layer can be applied to individual planetary pins or scaled up to series production as needed - without changing the design concept.
• Unlock cost savings: Fewer components, fewer process steps, and lower assembly and logistics costs can reduce total costs over the product lifecycle.
• Functional integration without geometric changes: The bearing function is achieved via the sliding layer without requiring a redesign of the planetary pin - this facilitates retrofits and variants.