flexure bearing

is a bearing which allows motion by bending a load element.  Typical flexure bearing is just one part, joining two other parts. For example, a hinge may be made by attaching a long strip of a flexible element to a door and to the door frame. Another example is a rope swing, where the rope is tied to a tree branch.

Flexure bearings have the advantage over most other bearings that they are simple and thus inexpensive. They are also often compact, light weight, have very low friction, and are easier to repair without specialized equipment. Flexure bearings have the disadvantages that the range of motion is limited, and often very limited for bearings that support high loads.  Flexure bearings can give very low friction and also give very predictable friction. Many other bearings rely on sliding or rolling motions, which are necessarily uneven because the bearing surfaces are never perfectly flat. A flexure bearing operates by bending of materials, which causes motion at microscopic level, so friction is very uniform. For this reason, flexure bearings are often used in sensitive precision measuring equpment.