Bearing Rings, Housings and Flanges

Bearing rings, housings and flanges are bearing components that are used in the assembly of many different types of bearings. Bearing rings, which are sometimes referred to as bearing races, guide a rolling element such as a ball, roller, or needle roller. Bearing housings and flanges hold an insert bearing in position, support the load transferred from the bearing shaft through the bearing, and are used to mount the bearing to a surface. Many different types of bearing rings, housings and flanges are available.  

Selecting bearing rings, housings and flanges requires a basic understanding of their operation. Typically, there are two bearing rings or races that the rolling element (ball, roller, or needle roller) is guided between. For radial bearings, there is a concentric inner ring and outer ring; each rotates around the same axis.  For thrust bearings, the axis of rotation is also the same, but the rings are not concentric. Instead, they are mounted parallel to each other, with the rolling element sandwiched between them. Depending on the type of bearing, the races may have a raceway for the rolling element to ride in, a spherical radius, or a flat surface. Lower-precision bearing rings are simply machined while higher-precision bearings are ground to precise tolerances.   

Bearing rings are used in all types of rolling element bearings. Examples include ball bearings, Conrad bearings, angular contact bearings, roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, and tapered roller bearings. Typically, bearing rings are used in the manufacture and assembly of all bearing types; however, these products are used mainly by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) instead of end-users.  

Bearing housings and bearing flanges are used to hold an insert bearing in position for use as flange mounted bearings or pillow block bearings. Insert bearings have a wide inner ring and mount to shafts via setscrews or locking collars. Flange mounted bearings are used when a shaft axis is perpendicular to the bearing mounting surface. They are available in 2, 3, or 4-hole configurations. Pillow block bearings are mounted bearings that are used to provide load support for a rotating shaft’s axis.  

Bearing housing type and bearing flange type are important specifications to consider when selecting bearing rings, housings and flanges. Bearing housing types include pillow block bearings, plummer block bearings, hanger bearings, and take-up bearings. Bearing flange types include 2-bolt flange, 3-bolt flange, 4-bolt flange and bracket or offset flanges (usually with 3 mounting holes). 

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