National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 6046:2026. It supersedes BS EN 6046:2020, which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee ACE/12, Aerospace fasteners and fastening systems.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 October 2026.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 19 January 2026.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 6046:2026) has been prepared by ASD-STAN.

After enquiries and votes carried out in accordance with the rules of this Association, this document has received the approval of the National Associations and the Official Services of the member countries of ASD-STAN, prior to its presentation to CEN.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by April 2027, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by April 2027.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 6046:2020.

EN 6046:2026 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 6046:2020:

normative references updated;
value of alpha for diameter codes 14 and 16 in Table 1 corrected.

Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

This document is published at edition P7. Former editions P1 to P6 and drafts may exist for Airbus development only but without any ASD-STAN official publication. In consequence configuration management discrepancies with these unofficial documents are under Airbus responsibility.

1 Scope

This document specifies the characteristics of inch‑based spherical plain bearing, metal to metal, in corrosion resisting steel, narrow series.

They are intended for use in fixed or moving parts of the aircraft structure and their control mechanisms.

They are used in the temperature range as determined by the grease capability as below:

code A: greased as per MIL‑PRF‑23827 Type I, operating temperature range −73 °C to 121 °C;
code B: greased as per MIL‑PRF‑81322, operating temperature range −54 °C to 177 °C.

The range of application for bearings lubricated with grease per code A is limited to 121 °C.

In both cases the spherical surface of the outer or inner ring is provided with a dry-film lubricant as per MIL‑PRF‑46010 or equivalent (anti-seizing protection).

2 Normative references

3 Terms, definitions and symbols

4 Requirements

4.1 Configuration, dimensions, tolerances and mass

4.2 Surface roughness

4.3 Material

4.4 Surface treatment

4.5 Loads and clearances

5 Designation

6 Marking

7 Technical specification

8 Quality management systems

Bibliography