What is the difference between a ball bearing and a roller bearing?
Bearing selection between Roller bearing and Ball bearing ultimately depends on factors affecting the system, where a bearing has to be mount.
Factors like:
Load (axial/radial/combined)
Rotational Speed-RPM (low/high)
Contamination (low/moderate/high)
Temperature of system (low/moderate/high)
Shaft orientation (horizontal/vertical)
Now particular for rolling elements (Roller / Ball), the most affecting factors are Load and Rotational speed.
Ball Bearings
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. Ball bearings work by transferring the load from the outer race to the ball and on to the inner race. Everything is able to spin smoothly since the spherical shape of the ball only touches the inner and outer race at very small points.
Roller Bearings
Unlike ball bearings, roller bearings are designed with heavy loads in mind. These bearings are primarily based around a cylinder, meaning this bearing is able to distribute a load over a large area, carrying heavyweights. Also unlike ball bearings, roller bearings are not made to handle thrust loads.
Roller bearings are used in applications where a large load is to be borne, for example in conveyor belts where rollers must bear heavy radial loads. As the name implies, the roller is not a sphere but cylindrical in shape so that contact between the outer and inner race is not a point but a straight line. Thus there is a greater contact than ball bearings and the load is spread out over a larger area allowing roller bearings to bear a much heavier load than ball bearings. One variation of roller bearings is known as needle bearings where the diameter of the cylinders is very small.
Please check the Product Guide to select suitable bearings for your machinery.
Check more types of Cylindrical Roller Bearings!
Check more types of Angular Contact Ball Bearings!
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