In 1839, Isaac Babbitt received the first patent for a white metal alloy that showed excellent bearing properties. Since then, the name babbitt has been used for other alloys involving similar ingredients. Babbitts offer an almost unsurpassed combination of compatibility, comfirmability, and embedability. They easily adapt their shapes to comform to the bearing shaft and will hold a lubricnt film. Foreign matter not carried away by the lubrication is embedded below the surface and rendered hamless. These characteristics are due to babbitt's hard/soft composition. High-tim babbitts, for example, consist of a relatively soft, solid matrix of tin in which are distributed hard copper-tin needles and tin-antimony cuboids. This provides for "good run-in" which means the bearing will adsorb a lubricant on the surface and hold the lubricant film. Even under severe operating conditions, where high loads, fatigue problems, or high temperature dictate the use of other stronger materials, babbits are often employed as a thin surface coating to obtain the advantage of their good rubbing characteristics.
Often
used in Marine applications, Isaac Babbitt was contracted by the United
States Navy, in 1842 for use of his anti-attrition metal, via the Secretary of
the Navy. This page reflects the record on file from the House of
Representatives.