Thin Section Bearings

Kaydon Reali-Slim Bearings

R.A. Rodriguez (UK) Ltd is the sole factory representative of Kaydon, an SKF Group brand, in the following regions:-

• UK
• Ireland
• Türkiye
• Scandinavia

Kaydon Bearings is a well-known manufacturer of precision bearings and filtration products primarily designed for industrial applications. The company has a long history dating back to its founding in 1941 and has since established a reputation for producing high-quality and custom-engineered solutions for various industries.  We are proud to supply the world-leading Kaydon bearings, renowned for providing exceptional design flexibility and capable of withstanding the most challenging applications.

One of Kaydon’s specialties is thin-section bearings, which are characterised by their low profile and light weight. These bearings are ideal for applications where space is limited, such as robotics, automation equipment, and aerospace systems.

The Reali-Slim bearings have a compact design making them smaller and lighter, with space and weight savings of up to 85%.

As thin section bearings have cross sections that don’t change as bore sizes increase, there needs to be no change in the space requirements, and little change in the weight of the bearing, even as the diameter of an application increases.

With a range of precision tolerance classes for optimal precision and design flexibility, these Kaydon bearings are specially designed with features that assure you of top performance in the most challenging conditions. Any bearing can be optimised to minimise friction, outgassing, contamination and even wear, without sacrificing bearing accuracy.

What are the benefits of Kaydon Bearings?

• Quality and precision bearings for air, sea, land and space.
•  A choice of open or sealed bearings
• Available in 3 basic types: Radial Contact (Type C) Angular Contact (Type A) and four-point contact (Type X)
• Supplied in a variety of materials, sizes, tolerances, specification and lubricant options
• Corrosion resistance options available
• Increase design flexibility, and provide excellent running accuracy

Reali-Slim® Bearings

• Very lightweight & very thin sections
• Wide range of metric & inch sizes available
• Diameter range: Imperial – 1 inch to 40 inches bore & metric – 20 to 360mm
• Eleven cross-section sizes: Imperial – 3/16 to 1 inch & metric – 8 to 20mm square
• Available in angular contact, duplex bearing, radial deep groove & four-point configuration
• Cross section remains constant as the bore diameters increase
• Available as standard in 52100 (100Cr6) and stainless steel
• Four precision classes from ABEC 1F to ABEC 7F
• Over 350 stock sizes readily available
• Sealed version available

Ultra-Slim® Bearings

Kaydon Ultra-Slim bearings are unique in that their extremely thin cross section enables them to provide great size and weight restrictions for light to medium duty applications with slow or intermittent rotation. These types of bearings are ideal for applications in robotics, inspection equipment, satellites, and other applications where precise positioning and lightweight designs are critical.

• Very lightweight & very thin sections at just 2.5mm wide
• Wide range of metric & inch sizes available
• Diameter range: Imperial – 1 inch to 40 inches bore & metric – 20 to 360mm
• Eleven cross section sizes: Imperial – 3/16 to 1 inch & metric – 8 to 20mm square
• Available in angular contact, radial deep groove & four-point configuration
• Cross section remains constant as the bore diameters increase
• Available as standard in 52100 (100Cr6) and stainless steel
• Four precision classes from ABEC 1F to ABEC 7F
• Over 350 stock sizes readily available from stock
• Sealed version available

Reali-Slim TT® Slewing Ring Bearings

The compact Kaydon Reali-Slim slew rings have been designed to save weight, reduce product envelope sizes and increase design flexibility, without compromising bearing performance and life cycle. These turntable bearings are ideal for demanding applications including robotics, radar antennae and factory positioning and inspection tables.

• Lightweight turntable bearings that are significantly smaller than standard slew rings
• Diameters from 1.5 inch to 6.0 inches
• 25-inch cross section
• Available with gear and ungeared
• Stainless steel construction
• Special designs & configurations available on request
• Greater accuracy – extended radial bearing section increases rigidity with optional preload or clearances to meet application to meet application torque or deflection requirements
• Fast installation and changeout

Industries using Reali-Slim Kaydon Bearings

Thin section bearings offer a wide variety of application-specific solutions for:

• Machine Tools
• Robots
• Optical scanning and imaging equipment
• Food processing machinery
• Packaging equipment
• Navigation
• Helicopter swash plates and gearboxes
• Propulsion and control systems
• Radar
• Satellites
• Rotating drill rig equipment
• Pipe inspection equipment
• Iron roughnecks
• Power swivels
• CT Scanners
• Laboratory diagnostic equipment
• Surgical robots
• Surgical chairs and tables
• Solar panel altitude-azimuth mountings
• Solar panel gearboxes

How to select thin section bearings

The Kaydon thin section bearing selector allows engineers and designers to easily search Kaydon’s thin section bearings by bore size, outside diameter, width, and part number. Results include 2D and 3D drawing downloads.