pillow block
- noun
- /ˈpɪloʊ blɑk/
- Specialized
:
bloque de apoyo
- To reduce friction, make sure the bearing is properly installed in the pillow block before operating the equipment.
Examples
-
The engineer recommended using a pillow block to support the rotating shaft in the machinery for better stability.
-
Sure, you could loosen and retighten a pillow block to assemble the shaft, but you'd bow it and likely wreck a bearing sooner or later.
Academic text (2009) -
Catalog has expanded technical data for design engineers. It includes single and Twin Rail@ shaft assemblies, Twin Rail@ carriage assemblies, as well as single and double linear bearing pillow blocks.
Academic text (1996) -
They include pillow blocks, two- and four-bolt flange bearings, shaft collars, and split-clamping collars in a range of common application sizes.
Academic text (1996) -
The technician inspected the pillow block and found that it required lubrication to maintain the shaft's smooth rotation.
Surface Forms
Morphology
pillow + block
The compound 'pillow block' transparently signals a block that cushions or supports (pillow = cushion/support; block = solid piece), so a learner can infer a general support function from the constituents. However, the specific technical sense — a bearing housing for a rotating shaft — is specialized and not fully predictable from the words alone, so the meaning is only partially derivable.
Etymology
Pillow block comes from the image of a pillow and a block: like a cushion, the metal block 'supports' and holds a rotating shaft while letting it turn. So, the name explains that it is a support that holds a shaft while allowing rotation.
