Bearing Component Industry

To understand the role of component industry in manufacturing of bearings, we must first lay emphasis on the manufacturing process of a Bearing in general.
Following are the major components used in manufacturing of a Bearing:

Raw Materials
The major raw material required for Ball and roller bearings (including Needle Roller bearings) are Rolled / Forged Rings, Rollers, Cages.

CUP / OUTER

Outer Rings

CONE / INNER

Inner Rings

Roller
The function of roller is to have a line contact load transfer taking the load from cup and transferring to cone or vice-versa as per the fitting practice.

Ball
The function of roller is to have a point contact load transfer taking the load from outer ring and transferring to inner / cone or vice-versa as per the filling.

Cage/Retainer
The main function of the cage/retainer is to retain the roller/ balls/Needle in the cone / inner assembly of a bearing. Retainers are made of narrow width CRCA sheets with pockets.

Shield
A shield (non-contact) or seal (contact) is often installed to retain lubricant and to prevent contamination from entering the bearing raceways. These are available in a variety of materials and configurations

Single Shield - Code Z
Double Shield - Code ZZ

Single Shield - Code ZS
Double Shield - Code ZZS