Bearings

Industrial Bearings — Ball, Roller, Thrust & Housed Units

A bearing is the component that supports a rotating shaft, carries load between moving parts, and reduces friction in machines and equipment. The right bearing — matched to load type, operating speed, environment, lubrication and shaft size — directly determines machine reliability and service life. AIMS Industrial is a specialist bearing supplier, stocking 492 bearing lines across all major bearing types and the leading brands used across Australian industry.

Bearing Types — At a Glance

Use the quick-reference below to find the right type, then click through for the full range, sizes and brands within each category.

• Ball bearings — 97 lines. The most widely used type. Handle combined radial and axial loads, low friction, suitable for high speeds. Standard in electric motors, pumps, fans and gearboxes.
• Deep groove bearings — 118 lines. The 6000/6200/6300/6800 series workhorses. See our Deep Groove Ball Bearing Guide for sizing and seal options.
• Cylindrical roller bearings — 40 lines. High radial load capacity for moderate to high speeds. NU, NJ, N and NUP series for large motors, gearboxes and industrial drives.
• Needle roller bearings — 47 lines. High capacity in a compact section. Common in U-joints, motorcycle gearboxes and oscillating applications. See the Needle Roller Bearing Guide.
• Spherical roller bearings — 41 lines. Self-aligning, very high load capacity. Suit shafts with misalignment or deflection on conveyors, paper mills and heavy industrial drives.
• Angular contact bearings — 21 lines. Designed for combined radial and axial loads in one direction. Spindle bearings, pump shafts and machine tool applications.
• Thrust bearings & washers — 12 lines. Pure axial-load bearings for vertical shafts and screw drives. See the Thrust Bearing Guide.
• Cam followers — 28 lines. Stud-type and yoke-type rollers for cam mechanisms and linear motion tracks.
• Linear bearings & bushings — 21 lines. For linear shaft motion in CNC, automation and material handling. See the Linear Bearing Guide.

Housed Bearings & Pillow Blocks

Pre-greased bearing inserts mounted in cast iron or pressed steel housings simplify installation, alignment and replacement on conveyors, fans, pumps and agricultural equipment. The Bearing Housings range covers pillow block, two-bolt and four-bolt flange, and take-up unit configurations. For sizing, locking-collar vs eccentric-collar selection and lubrication intervals, see the Pillow Block Bearings: Types, Selection & Installation Guide.

Bearing Brands

AIMS stocks bearings from the major manufacturers specified across Australian maintenance engineering:

• SKF — Swedish premium brand, broadly specified in food, mining and process industry.
• NSK — Japanese precision bearings, strong in automotive and electric motor applications.
• Koyo (120 lines) — Japan-engineered, JTEKT group, very wide industrial coverage.
• NACHI (169 lines) — Japanese bearings widely used in machine tools and general industry.
• NTN — Japanese, strong in automotive and industrial OEM supply.
• FYH (81 lines) — Japanese specialist in housed insert bearing units.

For brand cross-referencing — matching an SKF part number to its NSK, NACHI, NTN, Koyo or FAG equivalent — see the Bearing Cross Reference Guide covering all major manufacturer suffix codes (ZZ, 2RS, C3 clearance, etc.).

How to Select the Right Bearing

Correct bearing selection goes well beyond matching shaft diameter:

• Load type: radial only, axial only, or combined — drives type selection (ball vs roller, single direction vs double-acting thrust).
• Load magnitude: calculated dynamic and static load against the bearing's C and C₀ ratings, plus expected L10 fatigue life.
• Operating speed: compared to the bearing's limiting speed (grease-lubricated vs oil-lubricated values differ significantly).
• Operating temperature: affects clearance class (C2 / Normal / C3 / C4), lubricant choice and seal compatibility.
• Environment: sealed (2RS), shielded (ZZ), open or special seal designs for wet, dusty or chemical environments.
• Shaft fit: interference fit on rotating ring, slip fit on stationary ring — confirmed against the housing and shaft tolerance.

For ongoing service life, see the Bearing Maintenance Guide covering lubrication intervals, inspection methods and common failure modes (spalling, brinelling, false brinelling, contamination).

Bearing Accessories

• Bearing pullers — internal, external and slide-hammer pullers for safe removal. Step-by-step technique in the Bearing Puller Guide.
• Adaptor sleeves & withdrawal bushings — for mounting tapered-bore bearings onto plain shafts.
• Circlips & retaining rings — internal and external shaft retention used alongside bearings.
• Bronze bushes — for plain-bearing applications and low-speed pivots.

Standards & Sizing

Industrial bearing dimensions follow ISO 15 (radial bearings — boundary dimensions) and ISO 104 (thrust bearings). Manufacturers use a standard suffix code system for seals, clearance and cage type — common suffixes include ZZ (metal shields), 2RS (rubber-contact seals), C3 (greater-than-normal internal clearance), MA/MB (machined brass cage). When cross-referencing brands, only the boundary dimensions and clearance class need to match — suffix codes vary between manufacturers.

Order Bearings from AIMS Industrial

AIMS Industrial is a specialist Australian bearings supplier with 492 bearing lines stocked from our Sydney warehouse for same-day or next-business-day dispatch Australia-wide. For maintenance breakdowns, unusual sizes or volume requirements, contact our team — machine downtime is costly and we'll work to get the right bearing to you fast.

Bearings Delivered Across Australia

AIMS Industrial is a specialist Australian bearings supplier, stocking 492 bearing lines for nationwide dispatch from our Milperra (Sydney) warehouse. The categories below speak to the bearing work being done in each Australian capital — SKF, NSK, NACHI, Koyo, NTN, FYH. Call (02) 9773 0122 for cross-referencing or breakdown response.

• Bearings Adelaide — 2–3 day road freight. Defence engineering (Osborne, BAE, ASC), food and wine processing, Whyalla and Port Pirie regional industry. Adelaide is our strongest bearings-by-search market — automatic credit for government bodies.
• Bearings Perth — 5–7 day road freight, air-freight options for urgent breakdown. WA mining heavy-duty bearings, conveyor and plant maintenance across the Pilbara and Goldfields. Spherical roller and pillow-block units in stock.
• Bearings Sydney — same-day dispatch from Milperra, warehouse pickup at 108 Ashford Ave. MRO and plant maintenance, marine bearings, HVAC and conveyor applications.
• Bearings Melbourne — 1–2 day road freight. Manufacturing bearings across the Dandenong/Laverton industrial corridors, food and pharma conveyor systems, post-auto components manufacturing.
• Bearings Brisbane — 1–2 day road freight. Mining-services maintenance for Bowen Basin and Surat Basin contractors, processing plant breakdowns, ag-processing and sugar mill bearings.

Orders placed before 1pm AEST typically ship same business day. For unusual sizes or cross-referencing across SKF/NSK/NACHI/Koyo/NTN, contact our team — machine downtime is costly and we'll work to get the right bearing to you fast.