Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports HEAVY loads & has a high torque capacity: 53 to 588 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 10 to 60 mm (0.393 to 2.362 in)

No built-in ball bearing support. Good for large orders & low to high torque needs: 1 to 2673 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 2 to 240 mm (0.078 to 9.448 in)

You also want to determine what kind of runout your application will allow. If the application allows only small deviations to occur, then a ball bearing is most likely your best choice.

Determine the rotational speed of your application. High speeds (RPM) usually work best with ball bearings and lower speeds usually work best with roller bearings.

Within these groups, there are sub-categories of bearings that have unique features or optimized designs to enhance performance.

BearingID OD chart

Centrifugal force is the main limiting factor to bearing speed because it turns into radial and axial loads on a bearing. Since roller bearings have more mass than a ball bearing, the roller bearing will produce a higher centrifugal force than a ball bearing of the same size.

There are a couple of other factors that need to be considered when selecting a lubricant for your application, see our in-depth article “How to Choose the Correct Ball Bearing Lubricant".

If you are designing a high-speed application, then you’ll want a high-precision bearing, usually within the ABEC 7 precision class.

Bearingnumber andsizechart pdf

The best protection for your bearing. Easy to install with a simple “drop-in” next to your bearing. No added space needed. CF seals offer 100% sealing efficiency against splashing liquids.

High precision bearings are manufactured with strict standards and have very little deviation from the specs when produced. High precision bearings are reliable for applications that go fast because they ensure good ball and raceway interaction.

If you are engineering an application like this, then choose a high precision bearing because it will produce smaller system runouts due to the tight tolerances the bearing was manufactured to.

Bearing sizeCalculator in mm

For high-speed applications, calculate your n*dm value, and if it’s higher than the grease max speed, then the grease won’t be able to provide sufficient lubrication. There are other options like oil misting. For low-speed applications, an oil bath is a good choice.

We know that not every application requires super, high-precision bearings. We stock other industrial parts from quality brands.

If your n*dm value is higher than the grease max speed value on the datasheet, then the grease won’t be able to provide sufficient lubrication and premature failure will occur.

When choosing the right bearing for your application, first you should find the bearing’s load capacity. The load capacity is the amount of load a bearing can handle and is one of the most important factors when choosing a bearing.

Lubrication creates a film of oil between the rolling element and the bearing raceway that helps prevent friction and overheating.

Let’s look at how this works with precision angular contact bearings. These bearings typically come with a manufactured offset between the inner and outer raceway. When the angular contact bearings are installed, the offset is removed which causes the balls to press into the raceway without any outside application force. This is called preloading and the process increases bearing rigidity even before the bearing sees any application forces.

Bearing sizechart

A radial bearing load is when force is perpendicular to the shaft. Then a combination bearing load is when parallel and perpendicular forces produce an angular force relative to the shaft.

If this happens, a simple and common solution is to switch the ball bearing material from steel to ceramic. This keeps the bearing size the same but offers roughly a 25% higher speed rating. Since ceramic material is lighter than steel, ceramic balls produce less centrifugal force for any given speed.

Designed with grooves in the outer ring to offer more protection (than our L-type seal) against contamination and direct spray liquids. Liquid gets pushed out through outer grooves when in rotation.

The most common type of lubrication is grease, which consists of an oil with a thickening agent. The thickening agent keeps the oil in place, so it won’t leave the bearing. As the ball (ball bearing) or roller (roller bearing) rolls over the grease, the thickening agent separates leaving just the film of oil between the rolling element and the bearing raceway. After the rolling element passes by, the oil and thickening agent join back together.

There are many different types of bearings available today with very little information on the differences between them. Maybe you’ve asked yourself “which bearing will be best for your application?” Or “how do I choose a bearing?” This bearing selection guide will help you answer those questions.

Angular contact bearings are the best bearing choice for high-speed applications. One reason is that the balls are smaller and smaller balls weigh less and produce less centrifugal force when rotating. Angular contact bearings also have a built-in preload on the bearings which works with centrifugal forces to properly roll the balls in the bearing.

How tocalculatebearing sizefrombearingnumber

How to size a bearingby hand

Bearing runout is the amount a shaft orbits from its geometric center as it rotates. Some applications, like cutting tool spindles, will only allow a small deviation to occur on its rotating components.

Includes built-in ball bearing support. Supports MEDIUM loads & low to medium torque capacity: 53 to 267 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 17 to 40 mm (0.669 to 1.57 in)

Bearing sizeformula

Ball bearings are designed with spherical balls and can distribute loads over a medium-sized surface area. They tend to work better for small-to-medium-sized loads, spreading loads via a single point of contact.

Another lubrication option for high-speed applications are oil mist systems which mix oil with compressed air and then inject it into the bearing raceway at metered intervals. This option is more costly than grease lubrication because it requires an external mixing and metering system and filtered compressed air. However, oil mist systems allow bearings to operate at higher speeds while generating a lower amount of heat than greased bearings.

Knowing your bearing lubrication needs is important for choosing the right bearings and needs to be considered early in an application design. Improper lubrication is one of the most common causes for bearing failure.

Another reason a ball bearing is better for high-speed applications is because of centrifugal forces. Centrifugal force is defined as a force that pushes outward on a body moving around a center and arises from the body’s inertia.

A lower precision bearing has more dimensional “wiggle room” when it’s manufactured than a high precision bearing. Therefore, when the bearing is being used at high speeds, the balls rapidly roll over the bearing raceway with less reliability which can lead to a bearing failure.

Before you select a grease, you need to find your applications ndm value. To do this multiply your applications RPMs by the diameter of the center of the balls in the bearing (dm). Compare your ndm value to the grease’s max speed value, located on the datasheet.

First, know the type and amount of bearing load that your application will place on the bearing. Small-to-medium-sized loads usually work best with ball bearings. Heavy load applications usually work best with roller bearings.

No built-in ball bearing support. Has no RPM limits & Supports high torque needs: 609 to 14,060 Nm. Bore (ID) sizes: 38.09 to 220 mm (1.499 to 8.66 in)

Bearing sizecalculator

This heavy-duty clutch (aka a hold-back clutch) is good for high torque operations and ensures motion freezes in place. Bore (ID) sizes: 15 to 40 mm. (0.59 to 1.73 in)

One reason is that the contact between the rolling element and the raceways in a ball bearing is a point instead of a line of contact, like in roller bearings. Because rolling elements press into the raceway as they roll over the surface, there is much less surface deformation occurring in the point loads from ball bearings.

For high-speed applications, knowing the speed at which the oil and thickener can separate and rejoin is important. This is called the application or bearing n*dm value.

If your application will operate at high rotational speeds, then ball bearings are usually the preferred choice. They perform better at higher speeds and offer a higher speed range than roller bearings.

Our GMN Gap Seals are plastic and a great choice for washdown applications, such as food conveyors and food manufacturing facilities

Roller bearings are designed with cylindrical rollers that can distribute loads over a larger surface area than ball bearings. They tend to work better for heavy load applications.

For lower speed applications an oil bath is common. An oil bath is when a portion of the bearing is submerged in oil. For bearings that will operate in extreme environments, a dry lubricant can be used instead of a petroleum-based lubricant, but the lifespan of the bearing is typically shortened due to the nature of the lubricant’s film breaking down over time.

Bearing rigidity is the resistance to the force that causes the shaft to deviate from its axis and plays a key role in minimizing shaft runout. Bearing rigidity comes from the interaction of the rolling element with the raceway. The more the rolling element is pressed into the raceway, causing elastic deformation, the higher the rigidity.

In this bearing selection guide, we’ll cover the four things you need to know about your application in order to choose the right type of bearing.