Cylindrical roller bearings comprise of an inner ring, an outer ring and cylindrical shaped roller elements within these two rings. These types of bearing can generally carry a greater radial load although their axial load carrying capacity is severely limited.

Axial Load – Is a load with direction along the axis of the shaft.

Bearing Life – This is the life expectancy of a bearing in service and depends upon its rating, loading from other machine parts and operating conditions.

Cage – A cage is used to contain the rolling elements within some bearings.

Dynamic Load Rating – Is the load a bearing can safely carry to extend its theoretical life to one million revolutions.

Raceway – Is the groove on the face of a bearing ring which permits circulation of the rolling elements.

Radial Load - Is a load with direction pointing toward or away from the centre of the bearing.

Static Load Rating – Is the maximum load a bearing can carry whilst stationary.

Most rolling element bearings are manufactured from a very strong, hard and fatigue resisting steel alloy, (primarily iron, with small amounts of carbon and chromium plus other trace elements).

There are limits to the temperature that bearings should be exposed to in service. Very cold temperatures and very hot temperatures will severely affect the performance of bearings.

Excessive bearing heat may be due to a problem elsewhere on the machine or mechanism. In which case a solution is sometimes to introduce external cooling around the bearing housing or a heat shield to block radiant heat.

Bearings can also overheat if friction, loads or speeds are excessive. Too little or too much lubricant will also generate heat.

There are limits on the maximum speed a bearing can rotate at. Smaller bearings are capable of rotating at much higher speeds than larger bearings.

A typical example of a cylindrical roller bearing is shown on the picture..