Single Row Tapered Roller Bearing

Single row tapered roller bearing are designed to support both axial and radial loads. They have a conical inner race and outer race that are joined together by a cage.

Duplex bearing arrangements must be installed correctly to achieve the correct preload – excessive operating clearance reduces load carrying capacity and increases frictional heat that can shorten bearing life.

Features

Single row tapered roller bearings are able to support both radial and thrust loading. They are usually mounted in pairs to enable axial loads to be taken equally from opposite directions. The design consists of an inner race having a thrust rib at the small end of the cup raceway and an outer race surrounding the inner race, rolling elements between the raceways of the inner and outer races, a rib ring at the large end of the cup raceway and a cage configured to maintain correct spacing of the rollers in the circumferential direction.

The cage is normally window-type pressed steel, although other types can be supplied on request. The basic bearing designation is based on ISO specifications and relates to the contact angle and boundary dimensions of the outer ring raceway small end diameter.

The size of the contact angle increases with the number of rollers, which can increase the load capacity. A larger contact angle also improves distribution of the load, reduces noise and vibration levels and helps to better maintain preload.

Design

The geometry of the rollers, raceways and flanges are optimized in single row tapered roller bearings to optimize stress distributions to prevent high stresses from developing at contact points. The flanges are also designed with a radius to improve lubrication performance and reduce frictional heat.

Single-row tapered roller bearings can withstand both radial and axial loads in one direction. They are also well suited to handle combination forces, especially those that require moment rigidity.

Depending on application requirements, matched pairs of single-row bearings can be configured in either a converging or diverging orientation. A convergent orientation is preferred because it is less complex and provides slightly better tolerance to misalignment. When a diverging orientation is used, spacers must be added to separate the inner and outer rings in order to properly adjust for internal clearance. This configuration can increase radial load capacity and reduce friction, but may not be able to withstand the same amount of axial loading.

Applications

Single row tapered roller bearings can carry heavy radial and thrust loads. They are also available in tandem and double-row arrangements to accommodate axial loads in either direction.

The taper geometry creates a linear contact surface that allows for greater load capacity than the point contact of ball (spherical) bearings. This can be particularly helpful in applications that require a combination of radial and axial forces, as is the case with roll mills or hoisting machines.

Because of the angular nature of their raceway surfaces, tapered roller bearings are best used in pairs to absorb axial forces. When combined with a second mirror-image paired tapered bearing, they can also be employed to withstand two-sided axial loads.

Tapered roller bearings feature a high-strength cage that retains and evenly spaces the rollers. They are lubricated to reduce friction between the rollers and raceways and dissipate heat during operation. This helps the bearing maintain a low operating temperature and dampens operational noise.

Sizes

Tapered roller bearings are able to accommodate combined loads, simultaneous acting radial and axial loads. The projection lines of the inner and outer ring raceways meet at a common point on the bearing axis to provide true rolling and low friction. The axial load capacity increases with the contact angle a.

Single row tapered roller bearings are separable and can be mounted in pairs, with the inner ring (cone) and outer ring (cup) mounted separately. The inner ring can be removed completely or partially to facilitate maintenance and reduce the chance of contamination or damage to the raceways.

NEWORLD supplies matched sets of single row tapered roller bearings with cages that are compatible with each other and with the cup/cone combination that best suits the application. Generally, the cup and cone assembly is pressed, but larger sizes may utilize pin-type cages. These matched assemblies are easy to locate axially in the housing and can support a fixed preload.