Lots of customers are very confused with the bearingdesignations / part numbers. They can not get enough exact information which they want to know by reading the bearing designations. Although there are some differences among the main bearings manufacters’ designations rules, like SKF bearing, FAG bearing, NSK bearing ect. They still all follow some principles. This article will show you some of these basic common regulations of bearing designations. After reading, maybe you can get the knacks.

Bearing designations can be identified as the following table:
xxPrefix
xxxxxBasic Code(Bearing series & bearing core)
xxSuffix

The alphabet before the basic code is known as “prefix”, while the alphaber after the basic code is known as “suffix”.

The basic code is the same for all brands as they are guided undr the ISO standard. However, for the prefix and suffix, each bearing manufacturer may have their own part numbers as this is not guided under ISO.
Prefixes for parts of standardised bearings:-
K
Cage with rolling elements
L
Separable ring of roller bearing
R
Separable ring with rolling elements of roller bearing
WS
Shaft washer of a thrust bearing
GS
Housing washer of a thrust bearing

Basic Bearing Code:-
Type of bearings
Bearing series
Deep groove ball bearings
160, 618, 619, 60, 622, 63, 623, 64
Angular contact ball bearings
72B, 73B, B719, B70, B72, 32B, 33DA
Four-point bearings
QJ2, QJ3
Self-aligning ball bearings
12, 13, 22, 23, 112, 113, 115, 116
Cylindrical roller bearings
N2, N3, N4, NJ2, NJ4, NJ22, NU2, NU3, NU4, NU22, NU23, NUP2, NUP3, NUP22, NUP23, NN30, NNU49, NCF29V, NCF30V, NNC48F, NNF50.
Tapered roller bearings
302, 303, 313, 320, 322, 323, 329, 330, 331, 332
Spherical roller bearings
213, 222, 223, 230, 231, 232, 233, 239, 240, 241
Thrust ball bearings
511, 512, 513, 514, 532, 534, 522, 523, 524, 542, 543, 544
Cylindrical roller thrust bearings
811, 812
Spherical roller thrust bearings
292, 293, 294
Needle roller bearings
K, HK, BK, NK, NKS, NKJ, NKLS, NA, RNA, NAO, RNAO
Bore Diameter (d) in mm 
Generally we can take the last 2 digit of the basic code to know the d (bore diameter of the bearing).
For example, the part number 6205, the d (bore diameter) will be 5 x 5 = 25mm
For part number 6011, the d (bore diameter) will be 11 x 5 = 55mm.
There are however some exceptions.
For the basic code ending with 00, 01, 02 and 03, the d is as follow:-
00 = 10mm
01 = 12mm
02 = 15mm
03 = 17mm
For the basic code with /xxx, the d will be the same as xxx. For example, xxxxx/500, the d will be the same at 500mm.
Samples of some suffixes:-
K
Bearings with tapered bore
E
Bearings with maximum load carrying capacity
ZR; .2ZR
Bearings with one or two metal dust shields
M, M1
Machined brass cage
TN, TV
Polyamide cage of PA66
P2
Precision tolerance < P4
S1
Bearings for operating temperature up to 200 degree celcius

Examples of bearing designations
629
62 = Deep groove ball bearing, series 62
9 = Bore size (d) 9mm
6001
60 = Deep groove ball bearings, series 60
01 = Bore size (d) 12mm
6304
63 = Deep groove ball bearings, series 63
04 – Bose size (d) 04×5 = 20mm
NJ2211E.TVP2.C3
NJ22 = Cylindrical roller bearings, series 22
11 = Bore size (d) 11×5 = 55mm
E = Bearing with maximum load carrying capacity
TVP2 = Moulded cage of polyamide PA66
C3 = Radial clearance larger than normal

There are too many other common bearing designations rules to list in this article,If you are still confused, please send messages to us,you can get our professional answers.


Posted by Yakang Bearing Supplies


Other News:
Bearing designations / bearing part numbers Guide
How to maintain shielded bearings
SKF bearing factory in Dalian CHINA
SKF among world's leading companies committed to sustainability
SKF Distributor College–100,000th certificate awarded
NSK Thrust Ball Bearing for Agricultural Machinery
Single Row Ball Roller Bearings (TPI 193)
SKF 108 TN9 self aligning ball bearings