What is the difference between tapered roller bearings and cylindrical roller bearings?

1. Design structure
Tapered roller bearings:
Tapered roller bearings consist of inner and outer cones and rollers. The inner cone is mounted on the shaft, and the rollers roll between the inner and outer cones. This design makes tapered roller bearings particularly suitable for bearing composite loads (i.e., combined radial and axial loads). Tapered roller bearings are usually divided into single-row, double-row and four-row structural types, among which single-row tapered roller bearings are the most widely used. Tapered roller bearings have a large load-bearing capacity, especially their axial load-bearing capacity increases with the increase of the contact angle (i.e., the outer ring raceway angle).
Cylindrical roller bearings:
Cylindrical roller bearings consist of inner and outer cylinders and a row of cylindrical rollers, and the rollers roll between the inner and outer cylinders. This design makes cylindrical roller bearings perform well in bearing radial loads, and also have a certain axial load-bearing capacity, but it is weaker than tapered roller bearings. Cylindrical roller bearings are also divided into single-row, double-row and four-row types, among which single-row cylindrical roller bearings are the most commonly used.

2. Functional characteristics
Carrying capacity:
Tapered roller bearings usually have higher carrying capacity than cylindrical roller bearings, especially in equipment that needs to bear complex loads and rotation, such as automobile front wheels, electric motors, ship engines, etc. Tapered roller bearings can withstand large radial loads and axial loads, while cylindrical roller bearings are better at bearing radial loads.
Speed ​​adaptability:
In high-speed equipment, tapered roller bearings can withstand higher speeds, thanks to their optimized design, which reduces friction and stress concentration. In contrast, although cylindrical roller bearings are also suitable for high-speed rotation, they may be slightly inferior in terms of limiting speed.
Installation and maintenance:
The installation of tapered roller bearings requires more attention to angles and axial positions to ensure that they can correctly carry complex loads. Cylindrical roller bearings are relatively simple to install, and are more convenient to disassemble and maintain. In addition, the clearance of tapered roller bearings may need to be adjusted during installation, while the clearance of double-row and four-row cylindrical roller bearings is usually set at the factory.

3. Application areas
Tapered roller bearings:
Due to their high load-bearing capacity and good adaptability to complex loads, tapered roller bearings are widely used in equipment that needs to withstand combined loads and high-speed operation, such as automobiles, rolling mills, mining, metallurgy, plastic machinery and other industries. Especially in the front wheel hub of cars, small-sized double-row tapered roller bearings have been widely used.
Cylindrical roller bearings:
Cylindrical roller bearings are mainly used in equipment that needs to withstand large radial loads and less axial loads, such as motors, machine tools, petroleum, rolling mill loading and unloading machinery and various industrial machinery. Double-row and four-row cylindrical roller bearings are often used to support machine tool spindles and heavy machinery such as rolling mills due to their compact structure and strong load-bearing capacity.