Custom Bearing Assemblies

Custom Bearing Assemblies

Founded in 1959, Universal Bearings is proud to be recognized as one of the leading designers, manufacturers, and innovators of high-precision custom needle bearings. Since our founding, we’ve expanded to a new 375,000-square foot facility. This has allowed us to offer even more capabilities to our customers in the automotive, aerospace, and medical sectors. 

Read on to learn more about our custom bearings, or contact us today to get started with a quote.

Specifications

Types of Custom Bearings We Make

We manufacture multiple types of precision needle roller bearings for all kinds of industrial applications, including:

Radial Roller Cage Bearings

Our American-made radial roller cage bearings are durable, rigid bearings with excellent load resistance. We can design profile needles to custom specifications, respecting critical diameter tolerances, length, and profile, while integrating them into customized radial cages. We also have design and manufacturing capabilities to provide double row assemblies and split-cage bearings.

Drawn Cup Needle Roller Bearings

The standard material for our drawn cups is AISI 1012. We then case harden (surface harden) and temper this material to a minimum Rockwell hardness rating of HRC 58. 

Common industrial applications include transfer cases, shaft supports, and other applications that require a high load carrying capacity. 

Additionally, our custom-manufactured profile needles can be assembled into thin shells or can be greased retained and held in place with a plastic plug.

Thrust Roller Bearings

The standard material for our thrust roller bearings is SAE 1010 steel, which is then heat-treated to a minimum hardness of HRC 58 per SAE J86. Our precision machined two-piece assemblies can provide extra lubrication for improved friction resistance.

Cam Follower Bearings

Our customized cam follower bearing assemblies include precision-machined needle rollers with a stud threaded within a thick outer ring. The result is a bearing with exceptional rotational movement, a small coefficient of friction, and high radial load resistance. Our cam follower bearings are also available in a wide array of designs. Because we are ISO 9001-certified, we can also provide custom bearings for cleanroom applications.

Roller Follower Bearings

If you don’t have an existing shaft mount or other mounting surface, our roller follower bearings, or track rollers, also offer exceptional radial and shock load resistance thanks to its extra-thick outer ring. We can custom-manufacture roller follower bearings with or without inner rings.

Our Capabilities

Universal Bearings offers a wide array of capabilities, including rapid prototyping, bearing analysis, production manufacturing, and in-house heat treating. 

Our design and engineering capabilities are backed by our own internally developed programs, 3D modeling, UB/Romax bearing modeling, and Autodesk Inventor. These capabilities are also supported by our full-scale in-house testing and validation for all new bearing designs. 

Our heat treatment capabilities include neutral hardening, induction hardening, carbonitriding, ferritic nitro-carburizing, and nitriding. Our modeling and design, coupled with our internal heat-treating processes, ensure we dramatically reduce lead times by avoiding third party subcontracting. These internal capabilities also have the added benefit of ensuring that everything meets and exceeds both industry and customer expectations.

Trust Us to Design Your Custom Bearings

In business for over six decades, we are widely recognized as one of the only independent loose needle roller manufacturers worldwide. Our wide-ranging design and manufacturing capabilities mean we can mass-produce custom bearings while offering competitive pricing and consistent delivery.

Ensuring Quality Through Certifications

Additionally, as an ISO-9001-certified manufacturer, we adhere to strict quality and control standards, audits, and production processes. Our ISO-14001 certification is a testament to our environmental stewardship, while our IATF 16949 certification and General Motors Built-in Quality Supply (BIQS) certification cements us as a trusted and reliable supplier in the automotive industry.

Backed by an Extraordinary Team

Lastly, our highly skilled team includes engineers, technicians, machinists, quality managers, and a customer service and sales team. From start to finish, we’re committed to delivering exceptional customer support.