Collection: SKF Deep groove ball bearings

SKF deep groove ball bearings are incredibly versatile and very well suited to a wide range of applications. This bearing series is manufactured and used in very high quantities and they have been optimised for high speeds and low noise and vibration. They can accommodate radial and axial loads in both directions and are easy to mount and require less maintenance than other bearing types.

SKF Deep groove ball bearing designs

SKF deep groove ball bearings come in the following design variants.

Single row deep groove ball bearings – These have just a single row of balls held by a bearing cage between an inner and outer ring. They can be supplied as open, sealed or shielded types and can be supplied with a variety of internal clearances and retaining rings where required.

Stainless steel deep groove ball bearings – These are largely the same as the rest of the deep groove ball bearing range except they are manufactured from stainless steel as opposed to bearing steel. Some small compromises in operating speeds and load ratings have to be made due to the constraints of the stainless steel material.

Single row deep groove ball bearings with filling slots – These bearings are comparable to the single row deep groove ball bearings except they come with a filling slot which allows an extra steel ball to be added to the raceway. This slightly reduces the operating speeds but increases the load ratings of the bearings so are a good way of increasing the load a bearing can achieve without having to use a larger or alternate bearing style.

Double row deep groove ball bearings – These bearings have two raceways separated by an inner and an outer ring. They use the same inside and outside diameter as the standard single row series but are wider and accommodate much higher loads than single row SKF deep groove ball bearings and even higher load ratings than the bearings with filling slots. SKF Double row deep groove ball bearings are manufactured with PA66 cages which is a glass fibred reinforced nylon cage. The bearings come with a suffix on the end of TN9 which denotes the PA66 cage.

SKF Deep groove ball bearings – Special variants

SKF deep groove ball bearings have also been designed with some special variants. You can find these in the SKF engineered products of our website

How to choose the right deep groove ball bearing ?

Deep groove ball bearings come in such a large range of sizes with different sealing arrangements, shield types, cages and greases. For most applications a standard SKF open, SKF sealed, or SKF shielded deep groove ball bearing will suffice.

SKF shielded bearings can be most suited to applications where you need to prevent grease leakage from the bearings but aren’t operating the bearing in conditions where contamination ingress is likely on the bearing. Typical examples would include a tumble dryer, skateboard wheels or electric motors. SKF shielded bearings can operate at higher speeds than SKF sealed bearings but don’t have the same sealing protection.

SKF sealed bearings are most suited to applications where the rotational speed requirement is not as high but the application may be susceptible to contamination and needs a seal to protect the rolling elements. SKF sealed deep groove ball bearings are the most common types of SKF bearings.

SKF open bearings don’t have any shields or seals on them. You can see the balls within the raceway. These bearing types are particularly suited to applications where the bearings need to be continuously lubricated either with oil or grease. A typical example would be in a gearbox where either the bearing is open at one side or both siders depending on the setup.

For more information on SKF bearings
You can check out the wider SKF product range here.
If you are looking to understand how the prefixes, suffixes and part numbers of SKF deep groove ball bearings are constructed then you can find that information here.