Drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends and with closed end are needle roller bearings with a very small radial section height. They comprise thin-walled, drawn cup outer rings and needle roller and cage assemblies which together form a complete unit.

These bearings allow the design of particularly compact and easy‑to‑fit bearing arrangements with high radial load carrying capacity. In order to support axial forces, they can also be combined with axial needle roller bearings AXW, series AXW, see dimension table, link.

The majority of the bearings are of a single row design and do not have a lubrication hole. Double row designs have a lubrication hole and the suffix ZW.

For particular applications, drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends are also available in a full complement design.

Drawn cup needle roller bearings require a hardened and ground bearing raceway on the shaft. If the shaft cannot be used as a raceway, the bearings can be combined with inner rings IR or LR. Suitable inner rings: see link.

If axial locating elements such as shoulders, snap rings etc. are not used, the housing bore can be produced easily and particularly economically. As a result, fitting of the bearings is simplified.

Drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends are supplied with a needle roller and cage assembly or a full complement needle roller set. Bearings with needle roller and cage assemblies allow higher speeds than the full complement designs.

Full complement drawn cup needle roller bearings have the maximum number of needle rollers and therefore offer extremely high load carrying capacity within a very small design envelope. However, their use at high speeds is restricted.

Since the needle rollers are not retained by mechanical means, they are secured for transport and fitting by means of a special grease (DIN 51825–K1/2K–30). However, this does not have adequate long term lubrication capacity. Relubrication is therefore recommended after fitting.

Some designs of drawn cup needle roller bearings are closed at one end. They are thus suitable for closing off the shaft ends of bearing arrangements. This gives protection against injury by rotating shafts and protects the bearing against contamination and moisture.

Depending on the size, the base is either smooth or lock-beaded (stiffened). Due to the profiled base, small axial guidance forces are possible.

Drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends and drawn cup needle roller bearings with closed end are available in an unsealed design in accordance with DIN 618-1/ISO 3 245 and a sealed design in accordance with DIN 618-2.

Under normal operating conditions, the lip seals give protection against contamination, spray water and the loss of lubricant.

Sealed bearings are greased with a lithium complex soap grease to GA08.

Unsealed bearings can be used at temperatures up to +140 °C­.

Sealed drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends and with closed end are suitable for temperatures from –30 °C to +100 °C, restricted by the lubricant and seal material.

Bearings with a plastic cage are suitable for operating temperatures from –20 °C to +120 °C.

With only a few exceptions, the cages are made from sheet steel.

Bearings with a plastic cage have the suffix TV.

The following special designs are available by agreement:

• unsealed bearings, greased with lithium complex soap grease to GA08 (suffix GA08)
• bearings with a lubrication hole for sizes from HK0609 (suffix AS1).

In addition to the catalogue designs, special designs are available by agreement:

• with an enveloping circle diameter F_w from 2 mm to 100 mm
• for special noise requirements (bearings with special noise testing).

For universal joints, universal joint bearings of series BU and BBU are available by agreement.

Suffixes for available designs: see table.