Needless to say, bearings are an essential part of our daily lives. Just look at the machine tools, cars, airplanes, electronics, and many other products and components that we use and even rely on every day. However, there are many different kinds of bearings that can perform many different tasks in many different applications. One of these basic bearings is the tapered roller bearing.

Tapered roller bearings are a special type of bearing designed and engineered to handle large axial and radial forces. They also make very good thrust bearings for this reason. But, specifically, how are roller bearings constructed? We have an in-depth look at how this particular type of bearing is designed for force.

The inner and outer raceways of the bearing consist of tapered segments, and the ends of the rollers are tapered, so that the tapered surfaces of both the raceways and the rollers intersect at a common point on the bearing spindle. This is ideal because it provides a more efficient point of contact, which in turn allows this type of bearing to carry higher loads than typical ball bearings. In addition, the geometry of these bearings prevents slippage - which can wear off the rollers and destroy the tight tolerances the bearings were manufactured to. With these bearings, a more natural and efficient rolling motion is maintained, helping to reduce premature wear.

Typically, tapered roller bearings are assembled with an outer ring, inner ring, roller assemblies, and flanges that prevent the rollers from sliding out of the assembly at high speeds. Because of these different assemblies, the roller bearings are separable, with the main parts of the assembly simply referred to as "taper" (for the inner and roller assemblies) and outer ring (for the outer ring).

Tapered roller bearings are usually used in pairs to withstand large axial forces in both directions. These pairs are commonly used as wheel bearings on many vehicles so that they can easily withstand large radial and axial forces. Some other common applications for these bearings can be seen in the construction and agricultural industries, where roller bearings are used in shaft systems, motors and gearboxes. These industries rely on these bearings to help their machinery and equipment perform at their most difficult jobs