Bearing Nomenclature
Suppose you are given a bearing and a code is printed over it and you need to identify the type of bearing by just seeing the code. How would you do it?
Its simple. For eg. You are given a bearing 6206.
- Here in 6206 bearing its 6 means ‘Single-Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing’
- 6206 its light type of bearing.
- In 6206 the last two digits are 06 and bore dia would be 30mm.
The first digit.
The first digit shows the type of bearing-
The following are the types of bearings which you could identify:
1 Self-Aligning Ball Bearing
2 Spherical Roller Bearing
3 Double-Row Angular Contact Ball Bearing
4 Double-Row Ball Bearing
5 Thrust Ball Bearing
6 Single-Row Deep Groove Ball Bearing
7 Single-Row Angular Contact Bearing
8 Felt Seal
- R indicates Inch (Non-Metric) Bearing
- N indicates Cylindrical Roller Bearing
Other types of bearing could be found out in broschure of bearing manufacturer.
The second digit
The second digit tells you about the robustness of the bearing. These series are from lightest to heaviest.
0 Extra light
1 Extra light thrust
2 Light
3 Medium
4 Heavy
8 Extra thin section
9 Very thin section
And from the last two digits you can get the size of bore dia.
Except the following 0-3 digits the bore dia is last two digits multiplied by 5.
01 12mm
02 15mm
03 17mm
for
And for some bearings at last you may find designation like ZZ
Z – Single shielded
ZZ – Double shielded
RS – Single sealed
2RS – Double sealed
V – Single non-contact seal
VV – Double non-contact seal
DDU – Double contact seals
NR – Snap ring and groove
M – Brass cage