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Minebea Co. Bearing Declared World’s Smallest
09/02/2015 - Guinness World Records has made official what bearings manufacturer Minebea Co. Ltd. has been saying for the last several years: it makes the world's smallest steel ball bearing.
Last week Guinness certified Minebea's 1.5 mm stainless steel bearing as the world's smallest commercially available steel ball bearing, recording its outer diameter as 1.4978 mm, just shy of 6/100ths of an inch.
"This achievement can be attributed to the unfailing efforts of our engineers and all others involved in the product," Yoshihisa Kainuma, Minebea's president and CEO, said in a statement.
"Minebea’s mission statement -- passion to exceed precision -- entails two meanings: a passion for achieving further precision and another passion for embarking toward uncharted territories. This award embodies the former passion. We will redouble efforts to create even more products that enrich people’s lives,” he said.
The Japanese company, which specializes in making small -- and very small -- ball bearings, launched sales of the 1.5 mm model in 2009. It is used in tourbillons in high-end mechanical watches. A tourbillon is a component designed to improve the timekeeping accuracy of watches.
"This achievement can be attributed to the unfailing efforts of our engineers and all others involved in the product," Yoshihisa Kainuma, Minebea's president and CEO, said in a statement.
"Minebea’s mission statement -- passion to exceed precision -- entails two meanings: a passion for achieving further precision and another passion for embarking toward uncharted territories. This award embodies the former passion. We will redouble efforts to create even more products that enrich people’s lives,” he said.
The Japanese company, which specializes in making small -- and very small -- ball bearings, launched sales of the 1.5 mm model in 2009. It is used in tourbillons in high-end mechanical watches. A tourbillon is a component designed to improve the timekeeping accuracy of watches.
