Ball vs Roller Bearings
The two fundamental types of rolling bearing are distinguished by two basic types of rolling element. The two basic types of rolling bearings are shown below:
Ball bearing
Roller bearing
Are rolling bearings better?
With minimal friction, rolling bearings support and guide rotating or oscillating machine elements – such as shafts, axles, or wheels – and transfer loads between machine components. Rolling bearings provide high precision and low friction and therefore enable high rotational speeds while reducing noise, heat, energy consumption, and wear. They are exchangeable and cost-effective machine elements that typically follow national or international dimension standards.
With minimal friction, rolling bearings support and guide rotating or oscillating machine elements – such as shafts, axles, or wheels – and transfer loads between machine components. Rolling bearings provide high precision and low friction and therefore enable high rotational speeds while reducing noise, heat, energy consumption, and wear. They are exchangeable and cost-effective machine elements that typically follow national or international dimension standards.
| Ball Bearings | Roller Bearings |
| A ball bearing is a spherical unit that serves the same purpose as a roller bearing. | A roller bearing is a cylindrical unit that is used to provide low-friction movement for a bushing or bearing block. |
| Balls make point contact with the ring raceways. | Rollers make line contact with the ring raceways. |
| The contact point becomes an elliptical area with increasing load acting on the bearing. | The contact line becomes somewhat rectangular in shape as the bearing’s load increases. |
| A ball bearing can accommodate high speeds due to the low rolling friction provided by the small contact area, but this puts limits on its load-carrying capacity. | A roller bearing can support heavier loads but slower speeds than a ball bearing of the same size due to the larger contact area and resulting increased friction. |
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Examples of applications:
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Aug 25,2023