What is the Spherical Roller Bearing?

Spherical roller bearings consist of an inner ring with two raceways inclined at an angle to the bearing axis, an outer ring with a common spherical raceway, spherical rollers, cages, and in some designs also Consists of inner guide ring or center ring. Bearings can also be sealed.

A spherical roller bearing is a rolling element bearing that allows rotation with low friction and allows for angular misalignment. Typically, these bearings support a rotating shaft in a bore in the inner race, which may be misaligned relative to the outer race. Misalignment may occur due to the spherical inner shape of the outer ring and spherical rollers. Despite what their name might suggest, spherical roller bearings are not really spherical in shape. The rolling elements of spherical roller bearings are mainly cylindrical, but have a (barrel-like) profile that makes them look like slightly over-expanded cylinders (i.e. like barrels).

Spherical Roller Bearing Designs:

Most spherical roller bearings are designed with two rows of rollers, allowing them to withstand very heavy radial loads and heavy axial loads. There is also a row of rollers designed for low radial loads and virtually no axial loads. These are also known as "Roller Bearings" or "Tonnenlager" and are usually available in the 202 and 203 series.

The internal design of bearings is not standardized by ISO and therefore varies between manufacturers and series. Some features that may or may not be present in different bearings are:

Lubrication characteristics of the inner or outer ring

central flange

guide ring or center ring

Integrated seal

cage

The external dimensions of spherical roller bearings are standardized by ISO in the standard ISO 15:1998. Some common spherical roller bearing series are: 213, 222, 223, 230, 231, 232, 238, 239, 240, 241, 248, 249.

Spherical Roller Bearing Material:

Bearing rings and rolling elements can be made of many different materials, but the most common is "chrome steel" (high carbon chromium), a material with about 1.5% chromium. This "chrome steel" has been standardized by several authorities, so there are many similar materials such as: AISI 52100 (USA), 100CR6 (Germany), SUJ2 (Japan) and GCR15 (China).

Some common materials for bearing cages:

Steel sheet (stamped or laser cut)

Polyamide (injection molding)

Brass (stamped or machined)

Steel (machined)

The selection of materials is mainly done by the fabrication volume and method. For high-capacity bearings, cages are typically made of stamped sheet metal or injection-molded polyamide, while low-volume manufacturers or low-volume series typically use machined brass or machined steel cages. For some specific applications, special coating materials are used (eg PTFE-coated cylindrical bore for vibration applications).

Spherical Roller Bearing Applications:

Spherical roller bearings are used in countless industrial applications with heavy loads, moderate speeds and possible misalignment. Some common application areas are:

gearbox

Wind Turbines

Continuous casting machine

material handling

Pump

Mechanical Fans and Blowers

Mining and Construction Equipment

Pulp and Paper Processing Equipment

Ship propulsion and offshore drilling

SUV

Spherical Roller Bearing Advantages:

Handling very heavy radial and axial loads in applications prone to misalignment or shaft deflection? ITS spherical roller bearings offer high load carrying capacity and the ability to accommodate misalignment, helping you achieve low maintenance costs and long bearing life. The ITS team has been manufacturing spherical roller bearings for over 20 years - open and sealed. Our product range includes spherical roller bearings designed for a variety of applications including wind turbine main shafts, continuous casters, vibration applications and high speed applications, as well as solid oil bearings, split bearings.

ITS spherical roller bearings with brass cages provide additional strength and durability in the harshest conditions including extreme shock and vibration, high acceleration forces and minimal lubrication.

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