Plain bearings

Explore the SKF plain bearings, rod ends and bushings that meet your application’s needs, as well as delivering high reliability, long service life and minimal maintenance.

Plain bearings are used in many industries and across many applications where there is a need to cost-efficiently and reliably meet the challenge of oscillating movements and possible misalignment. From railways, mining and construction equipment, farm and forestry machinery, all the way to forklift trucks and solar power equipment.

Product types

Spherical plain bearings and rod ends

Rod ends

Consisting of an eye-shaped head with integral shank that forms a housing for a spherical plain bearing, and available for specific applications, for example, attached to the end of a piston rod or base of a...

How to select the right bearing or rod end

This section provides general technical information, application recommendations including calculations. It supports for product selection to achieve your required level of equipment performance, to the...

Radial spherical plain bearings

Their design is particularly suitable for accommodating alignment movements between shaft and housing, or where oscillating or recurrent tilting or slewing movements at relatively slow sliding speeds must be...

Angular contact spherical plain bearings

The sliding contact surfaces of these bearings are spherical in shape and inclined at an angle to the bearing axis, and consequently these bearings are well suited for accommodating combined (radial and...

Thrust spherical plain bearings

With the bearing shaft and housing washers having convex and concave spherical surfaces, respectively, these bearings are intended to accommodate axial loads primarily, but also combined (radial and axial)...

Bushings, thrust washers and strips

How to select the right bushing, thrust washer or strip

This section provides general technical information, application recommendations including calculations. It supports for material and product selection to achieve your required level of equipment...

Bushings

Manufactured in various designs and from different materials, offering a wide assortment from stock, each combination of design and material has characteristic properties particularly suitable for certain...

Thrust washers

Made from PTFE and POM composites, for applications with limited axial space, oscillating or rotational movements, where maintenance is not possible, lubricant starvation can occur, a pin/screw inserted in...

Strips

Using the same composite materials and designed for use in the same type of applications as thrust washers, dry sliding strips can be bent, pressed of coined to form flat linear guides, for example, L- or...

Why choose spherical plain bearings?

Suitable for heavy static and dynamic loads at relatively low speeds
Multi-directional movements
Accommodate misalignment
Accommodate deformation of surrounding components in operation
Accommodate wide manufacturing tolerances and the use of cost-effective, welded assemblies

Why SKF plain bearings?

Wide variety of product options for different application conditions
Lubricated for life options available for decreased grease use
High corrosion resistance versions available
Wide range of sizes
Standard assortment includes spherical plain bearings, as well as rod ends, bushings, thrust washers and strips
On request, SKF can provide also application or industry specific plain bearings