The first integral rod end was invented by an RBC division named Heim Bearings. The rod end is also referred to as the Heim Joint named after the inventor Lewis Heim who founded the Heim Bearing Company. While spherical plain bearings offer misalignment capability in a fixed housing position; rod ends offer ease in mounting and adjustment of position in installations such as mechanisms, linkages, and control rods. Rod ends also provide a compact, lightweight, economical design alternative to a conventional housing installation. Today, rod ends, or Heim joints, can be found throughout industry in aircraft, helicopters, jet engines, military vehicles, submarines and surface ships, transportation equipment, agricultural and recreational vehicles, lawn and garden equipment, material handling, and fluid power applications.

Heim Bearings Company offers the industry’s widest selection of rod end types and sizes. Our product range includes Heim rod ends with brass race inserts in standard, precision and high capacity designs; high strength two piece designs; self-lubricating rod ends with engineered thermoplastic races or high performance Teflon® liners, military standard rod ends for the ultimate in rod end performance, ball bearing rod ends which have extremely low friction and misalignment capability, and elastomeric bearing rod ends that reduce vibration and noise in installations. Heim rod ends are also available with a variety of platings, coatings and materials, and with a wide range of optional features such as lubrication fittings, left hand threads, and keyway slots. Rod ends are available in both inch and metric sizes.

Spherco rod ends and spherical plain bearings are intended for linkage applications where a bearing must accommodate significant misalignment. While spherical plain bearings offer flexibility in housing and mounting design, the user bears the responsibility for housing design and the cost of housing manufacture.  Rod ends offer greater mounting convenience and provide a compact, lightweight, economical design alternative to the spherical plain bearing. Spherco bearings offer the industry's widest selection of rod end types and sizes.

Spherco offers three basic rod end constructions . The four-piece rod end uses race inserts, typically of brass, to provide lubricity in the bearing area. This design offers reduced internal clearance and provides smoother operation. It is ideal for dynamic applications. The two-piece rod end uses a rod end body, which is formed around a spherical ball. The comparatively heavy cross section of the rod end body in the two-piece design provides high strength.  This makes the two piece rod end ideal for highly loaded, static applications where high strength is required . The cartridge-type rod end consists of a spherical plain bearing mounted in a rod end body. This design allows the optimum selection of materials for ball, race and rod end bodv. The cartridge type rod end can also accommodate a PTFE liner for self-lubrication. This design is best suited for applications where lubrication is not practical.

Spherco offers metal-to-metal rod ends and self-lubricating rod ends. All metal­ to-metal rod ends, including brass insert four-piece types, require regular lubrication. This can be accomplished by splash or immersion oil lubrication, or by greasing through optional lubricators (grease fittings). Self-lubricating types are used where relubrication is not practical or in applications where relubrication is not desirable such as on food processing machinery or in clean environments. Spherco self-lubricating rod s ends are available with bonded PTFE fabric liners or with molded, engineered thermoplastic race inserts.

Spherco rod ends are offered in three grades:  precision, commercial, and aircraft. Precision rod ends are manufactured to tight tolerances for applications requiring improved linkage accuracy and reduced looseness. Commercial rod ends are produced using standard materials and manufacturing methods, and are an economical choice for industrial applications. Aircraft rod ends use premium materials and have magnafluxed rod end bodies. Originally intended for aircraft applications, aircraft rod ends are used in many industrial applications where a high degree of reliability is required.