The Fafnir brand of bearings were originally manufactured by \"The Fafnir Bearing Company" which was started in New Britain, Connecticut in 1911. Founder Howard S. Hart started the company based upon the need at that time for less expensive alternatives to English and German made ball bearings.A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.