Only for radial forces – or an all-rounder?

Radial bearings are a subgroup of rolling bearings that can primarily support radial loads – these always act perpendicular to the shaft axis. Findling Wälzlager's range includes numerous models, including deep groove ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings or spherical roller bearings.

"Although radial bearings are primarily built to support radial forces, they can also support small to medium axial forces," explains Klaus Findling, managing director of Findling Wälzlager. "Thanks to this flexibility, radial bearings can be used at both high and low speeds in a variety of applications."

Depending on the rolling element type, the properties differ: radial deep groove ball bearings are particularly versatile, insensitive in operation, easy to maintain and very economical. Radial spherical roller bearings have high dimensional stability, can support high radial and medium axial forces, and are wear-resistant even under vibration. They exhibit high insensitivity to misalignment and shock loads. Radial cylindrical roller bearings have an extremely high load carrying capacity and are very rigid. In addition to high radial forces, they can also support axial forces when used as support or locating bearings.

The second large group of rolling bearings are thrust bearings, but as a rule they can support no or only very low radial forces. Angular contact ball bearings and tapered roller bearings offer a good solution for uniformly occurring radial and axial forces. The correct selection is usually made using calculation programs or in a personal consultation with the specialists at Findling Wälzlager.

Further information on selecting the right radial bearing can be found on the Findling website.