The main function of rolling bearings is to support load and transmit rotational movement with minimum energy loss. In order to achieve this, bearings are manufactured with particularly good quality fatigue resistance materials, proper design and tight manufacturing tolerances. Particular emphasis is put in both the macro, and micro geometry of the working shapes and surfaces of the raceways. Rolling bearings come in many types and sizes as ball and roller bearings for radial and thrust loads.

Gear drives deliver power to industrial equipment such as bulk material conveyors, mixers, pumps and paper mills. The reliability that translates into greater uptime and profitability begins by specifying and selecting the proper drives for these critical applications.

American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA) Standard 9 and ISO 281 give equations for calculating the basic dynamic radial load rating for ball bearings. These equations are based on a number of assumptions, many of which are not valid for thin-section bearings. (Thin-section bearings are described in ABMA standard 26.2.) Nevertheless, many thin-section bearing catalogs report load ratings based on these equations. Kaydon has developed a new method for calculating the dynamic radial load rating for thin-section ball bearings. The new method uses the contact stress and the number of stress-cycles-per-revolution to calculate the capacity. The new numbers are based on five years of actual test results. These equations can also be used to calculate the dynamic radial load rating for four-point contact ball bearings, which are not covered in ABMA standard 9 or ISO 281.