Thin section bearings

Thin section bearings are designed to save weight, use less space, reduce friction, increase design flexibility and provide high running accuracy.
These bearings can meet highly demanding and specific requirements. They are often used in applications such as aerospace, medical systems, robotics, astronomy instrumentation and machine tools. Our design efficiency can lead to significant savings in space, weight and cost over standard dimensioned bearings.

Explore our large variety of thin section bearings, materials, cage/separator options, cross sections, internal clearance or preload choices, lubricants, corrosion resistance options, contact angles and tolerance classes. Our thin section bearings can also be customized to meet your specific performance requirements.

Thin section bearings are presented under the Kaydon brand, which became part of the SKF portfolio in 2013. Kaydon thin section bearings have a long heritage of successfully meeting some of the most challenging application requirements in a range of industries.

Product types

Reali-Slim thin section bearings

Reali-Slim ball bearing series is based on a single cross section which remains constant as the bore diameter is increased, leading to significant space and weight savings.

Ultra-Slim thin section bearings

At just 2.5 mm wide, these low profile, large bore ball bearings are ideal for an array of applications requiring precise positioning and lightweight design, such as robotics, inspection...

Customized thin section bearings

Gain greater design flexibility with products that include TT series turntable bearings, BB series metric ball bearings as an alternative to cross-roller bearings, and KT thin section tapered roller bearings.

In focus

SKF bearings help Mars Rover collect rock and regolith samples on the planet’s surface

Each time NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover collects or handles rock and regolith samples on the surface of the red planet, key components from SKF contribute to the success of its mission. Kaydon Reali-Slim thin section ball bearings are critical to Perseverance's core operations in the harsh environment on Mars. These highly engineered components, designed and manufactured by SKF, allow the rover’s main robotic arm, sample collecting turret, tool bit carousel and sample handling assembly to survive a months-long trip through space and function on the Mars surface.

Reali-Design Engineering Software

Reali-Design engineering software allows you to quickly and accurately select the bearings you need for your specific application. Use it to accurately determine safe operating speeds, essential life calculation and load analyses. Save hours of bearing selection and computation time with Reali-Design.