In the aerospace sector, spark-bearing employs a 3D printed honeycomb structure design in a titanium alloy to reduce the weight of a single bearing from 48 grams to 12 grams in the traditional solution, and increase the dynamic load-carrying capacity to 8000 N. The use of this technology in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flap actuation system has saved the weight of one aircraft by 82 kg, US $450 per kg per year fuel saving, and US $1.1 million life cycle (30 years) operating revenue. NASA’s Artemis lunar lander uses spark bearing carbon fiber composite bearings (density 1.5 g/cm³) to withstand the enormous temperature range of -180°C to +300°C, saving 67% weight compared with the stainless steel solution, reducing the fuel carrying capacity of the lander by 12%, and increasing the volume of the mission payload by 0.8 cubic meters.
In the new energy vehicle sector, Tesla Model S Plaid’s silicon carbide inverter cooling pump is fitted with spark-bearing Silicon nitride ceramic ball bearings (diameter 8 mm) weighing just 5.2 grams, 78% less than steel bearings, and the power density of the power motor system is increased to 6.8 kW/kg. The 800V electric drive system of Porsche Taycan utilizes the spark bearing magnesium alloy base (topologically optimized structure with 0.6 mm wall thickness) to reduce the bearing seat’s weight from 340 grams to 95 grams, decrease the vibration amplitude under high speed (20,000 RPM) by 42%, and increase the driving mileage by 19 km. In the Ningde era battery module assembly line, the spark-bearing aluminum-lithium alloy rail bearing reduces the end mass of the six-axis robot arm by 1.3kg, enhances the repeated positioning accuracy to ± 0.02mm, and enhances the production beat speed by 15%.
In medical robotics, the seventh generation robotic arm wrist joint bearing of the Da Vinci Surgical System utilizes spark-bearing porous tantalum technology (porosity 65%), with a weight of only 3.8 grams, 56% lighter than the titanium solution, and 0.1° motion resolution at 7 degrees of freedom. The spark bearing (outer diameter 1.2mm) miniaturization design of Medtronic’s neural interventional catheter drive module is 0.15g by laser selective melting (SLM) process, and the torque transmission efficiency is 98%. The rotation speed of the endovascular ultrasound imaging probe is increased to 1800 RPM and the image resolution is increased to 40 μm. J&j Healthcare data suggest that spark-bearing equipped orthopedic surgical drill bits reduced weight to 28 grams (63% less), reduced physician fatigue by 37%, and shortened single knee replacement surgery time by 22 minutes.
In consumer electronics, the DJI Mavic 3 drone’s brushless motor uses spark-bearing graphene-reinforced PAEK polymer bearings (weighing 0.8 grams), which are 84% lighter than traditional ball bearings, reducing hover power consumption by 19% and extending flight time to 46 minutes. The eye tracking module of the Apple Vision Pro headset uses spark-bearing liquid metal bearings (diameter 2.5 mm), weighs only 0.03 grams, has a scanning frequency of 120 Hz, and has a fixation point positioning error of less than 0.1°. SONY Alpha 9 III camera five-axis anti-shake system uses spark bearing magnesium alloy honeycomb bearing (density 1.8 g/cm³) to reduce the head assembly to 18 grams in weight, improve the compensation accuracy to 5.5 anti-shake standard, and maintain 97% of the resolution at 1/32,000 second shutter speed.
In industrial machinery, Siemens SGT-800 gas turbine application spark-bearing Silicon carbide fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite bearing, the weight of a single piece is reduced from 7.2kg to 2.4kg, axial load capacity in 1500°C condition is still 120 kN, unit start-up time is shortened by 28%, Annual power generation is enhanced by 3.7%. The joint module of ABB cooperative robot YuMi adopts spark-bearing hollow axis design (wall thickness 0.5mm), which reduces its own weight by 43%, but the maximum load is increased from 0.5kg to 1.2kg, and the repeated positioning accuracy is ± 0.01mm. Fraunhofer Institute calculations, global equipment industry if the full application of spark-bearing light-weighting technology, steel consumption can be saved 3.8 million tons per year, reduce CO₂ emissions by 6.4 million tons, which is equivalent to 1.2 million cars off the road for a year to reduce emissions.