Industrial bearings from SKF, NSK, FAG and Timken

Three questions drive bearing selection: how much load the bearing carries, which direction that load comes from, and how fast the shaft turns. The rest of the specification—seals or shields, internal clearance, cage material—follows from the operating conditions at the mounting point.

For most jobs the starting point is the 6000 series of deep groove ball bearings. They run at high speed, handle radial load plus a moderate amount of axial load, and are the type we quote most often. Heavier loads at lower speeds call for cylindrical roller bearings, where contact runs along a line rather than at a point. Real installations rarely keep the shaft and housing in perfect alignment; that is the job of spherical roller bearings in the 222, 223 and 240 series, which tolerate misalignment without wearing themselves out. Radial and axial load acting together points to tapered roller bearings or angular contact ball bearings. A tight radial envelope calls for needle roller bearings, and pure axial load for thrust ball bearings or roller thrust bearings.

Every designation in our catalog is listed with the manufacturer's part number, and anything else can be requested. Basic numbers are shared across manufacturers—a 6205 is a 6205 whatever the brand—so the differences sit in the suffixes: 2RS means rubber seals on both sides, 2Z metal shields on both sides, C3 greater internal clearance for bearings that run hot, and K a tapered bore for mounting on an adapter sleeve.

Cross-referencing is the request we get most: you have a part number from one manufacturer and need the equivalent from another. Send it by WhatsApp in whatever form you have it—a handwritten note or a photo of the failed bearing will do.

You can also reach us by email. Either way, we confirm the exact part number before quoting and suggest equivalents when the original brand is not the one you need.

Don't see your part number in the search results? Contact us anyway. The designation alone, or a photo of the old bearing, is enough for us to quote it.