Rolling Bearings

Rolling bearings generally comprise two bearing rings with integral raceways. Rolling elements are arranged between the rings and roll on the raceways. Rolling elements can be balls, cylindrical rollers, needle rollers, tapered rollers or barrel rollers. The rolling elements are generally guided by a cage that keeps them at a uniform distance from each other and prevents them coming into contact with each other. In needle roller bearings and ribless spherical roller bearings, the cage also ensures that the rolling element axis is positioned correctly. Where bearings can be dismantled, the cage holds the rolling elements together and gives easier fitting of the bearings. For particular applications, rolling bearings with a full complement of balls, cylindrical rollers or needle rollers may be used.