Rolling bearings

Rolling bearings consist of rolling elements (balls or rollers) between the inner and outer rings, and operate using rolling friction. They are broadly classified as ball bearings or roller bearings by the type of rolling element used, and are available in two types depending on the direction of the load being supported, as radial bearings that support radial loads, and thrust bearings that support axial loads.

Ball bearings

Ball bearings are the most common type of rolling bearing that uses balls as the rolling element.

Roller bearings

Roller bearings use rollers as the rolling element and are available in different types depending on the shape of the rollers, including cylindrical roller bearings, needle roller bearings, tapered roller bearings and spherical roller bearings.

Special application bearings

Bearings are also designed to suit special applications, such as bearings for rolling stock, bearings for supporting ball screws and bearings for special environmental conditions.

Linear motion bearings

These bearings move in a linear motion, and include linear ball bearings, linear roller bearings and linear flat rollers.