After years of rapid development, China's bearing industry has become the third largest bearing country in the world in terms of output and sales volume, but the key technology areas need to be strengthened, especially the gap between aviation bearing technology and the world's bearing powers is obvious, which can not meet the requirements of rapid development of China's aviation equipment. According to public information, the life of worldly advanced aeronautical bearing products is generally more than 8 times of the calculated life (up to 30 times) and the reliability is more than 98%, while the life of Aeronautical bearing in China is generally 3 to 5 times of the calculated life, and the reliability is about 96%.

The service life of turbo engine spindle bearings in China is generally between 500 and 1500 hours, while in developed countries, the service life of bearings can reach 3000 to 6000 hours, and the actual performance is better than the above indicators. It is precisely because of the insufficient technology of high-end bearings in China that the domestic aviation bearings, high-speed rail bearings, robotic bearings and other high-end bearing fields are basically mainly imported bearings. Therefore, with the joint support of 863, 973, National Science and Technology Research Program, National Natural Science Foundation and other projects, Harbin University of Technology and Harbin Bearing Manufacturing Co., Ltd. jointly carried out the research and industrial application of Si3N4 silicon nitride ceramic hybrid bearings.

According to public information, silicon nitride ceramic balls are considered to have the best comprehensive mechanical and physical properties in bearing applications requiring high performance. The ceramic ball in the bearing has the property of oil-free self-lubrication, the friction coefficient is very small, and it can achieve a high speed, which is more than 1.5 times the speed of the general metal bearing. It can meet the needs of engine to increase thrust and combustion efficiency.

Because the ceramic ball can work normally even if the grease is dried out, it can avoid the premature damage of the bearing caused by the grease dried out in ordinary metal bearings, which is extremely suitable for the extreme conditions of aero-engine operation. According to the disclosure of public information, it is presumed that hybrid ceramic bearings have been preliminarily applied in the field of new aeroengine and transmission in China.