Subscribe Feed (RSS)Needle Roller Bearings: The Answer to Your Needs
Unlike other kinds of bearings, needle roller bearings are created using small cylindrical rollers that are essential in maintaining a reduced friction for a rotating surface. They have a large surface area connected with the outer surface of the bearings like that of ball bearings but with less clearance added. The difference in diameter and shaft of the ball bearings and needle roller bearings result in different functions. These are more compact than ball bearings. The traditional structure is composed with an inner race or shaft and a needle cage oriented with the needle and finally, the outer race.
The radial needle bearings can be described as cylindrical in shape and has rollers parallel to the shaft axis. A special component of needle bearings is the thrust needle bearing. This is flat and is useful for radial needles. There is a part in bicycles called headsets which are crooked in pattern but are able to absorb parallel and thrust power impacts directed at the bike. This is only one of the applications of bearings. These are used commonly in engineering components like arm pivots, pumps, compressors, cars and transmissions.
A vehicle with a drive shaft at the rear-wheel has 8 needle bearings at the minimum, paired in each side leaving 4 at each joint. More may be added for longer rear-wheels and steep slope maneuvering will also require more needle bearings at the joints.
Simply put, needle roller bearings can be defined as roller bearings with long rollers, the size of which can be at least four times that of the diameter. The cylindrical rollers are long and thin compared with the diameter, with the low cross section area encompassing for the high load carrying capacity they can withstand. These bearings are definitely made for bearings that have a limited radial space.
These needle bearings got the name from the presence of very thin and long cylinders which is compared to the needle used in sewing. These are available in different designs depending on the size of the needle and the roller itself. There are different applications that require specific sizes of needle bearings.
Designs can also be customized into different types like needle roller and cage assemblies, drawn cup needle bearings, open-ended and close-ended, fully complemented with open ends, machine ringed, with flanges, without flanges, with outer ring, without outer ring, with seals, with inner ring, without inner ring, aligned roller bearings, with universal joint bearings, combined needle bearings, angular contact ball bearings, ball bearings, cylindrical rollers, cage thrust assembly and with centering spigot.
A specification development manual can be available upon request for those who want to know the detailed differences of the above-mentioned customized kinds of bearings.
