Cam Followers Selection Guide

Cam Followers are presented in five groups: Needle Roller Cam Followers; Caged Roller Followers; RBC Roller^®; Long Life Cam Followers; Material Handling Rollers and Sheaves; and Airframe Track Rollers and Needle Bearings. RBC also produces a wide range of custom designed cam followers and track rollers. Designers and users with unusual application requirements should contact RBC to discuss custom designed cam followers.

Application Requirements		Needle Roller Cam Followers					Caged Roller Follower	RBC Roller
		Standard Stud	Heavy Stud	Yoke Type	Cam- Centric	Crowned Outer Ring
Dynamic loading	Mod
	Heavy
	Very Heavy
Shock Loading
High Static Loads
Contamination
Maintenance Free
Long Life
Misalignment
Load Sharing
Adjustability
High Speed
Low Friction
Circular Track

Needle Roller Cam Followers

Needle Roller Cam Followers have a heavy outer ring cross section and a full complement of needle rollers. They offer high dynamic and static load carrying capability, and anti-friction performance, in a compact design. They are used as track rollers, cam followers, and in a wide range of linear motion systems.

RBC Roller^®

The RBC Roller^® was developed for applications where long cam follower life and maintenance-free service are essential. They are dimensionally interchangeable with needle roller cam followers. The RBC Roller® is a good selection for production machinery applications where down time is critical and must be avoided, or where cam followers are not readily accessible for relubrication or replacement. They are available in stud type and yoke type configurations.

Two paths of end-guided, cylindrical rollers provide substantial increases in fatigue life and limiting speed. They can tolerate higher thrust loads than needle roller cam followers. Standard contacting lip seals offer enhanced protection against contaminants and positive grease retention. A large internal grease cavity assures maintenance-free service. Hex sockets are a standard feature. Crowned outer rings are available as an option.

Hexlube^®

RBC stud type cam followers have a new Hexlube^® feature and come equipped with a grease fitting installed in the flanged end of the stud. This permits relubrication through the hex head.

Standard Stud cam followers offer the mounting convenience of a threaded stud and are designed to accommodate moderate loads. They are available with and without seals. Standard stud cam followers are also available with crowned outer rings for applications where misalignment is a problem.

Heavy Stud cam followers are designed to provide additional stud strength for applications with high loading or shock loads. Heavy stud cam followers are available with and without seals, and with crowned outer rings.

Yoke Type cam followers are intended primarily for applications where loading conditions exceed the capabilities of stud type cam followers, or where clevis mounting is desired. Clevis mounting provides support on both sides of the cam follower and permits use of a high strength pin. Yoke type cam followers are available with and without seals, and with crowned outer rings.

Cam-Centric™ adjustable cam followers are used where accurate positioning is required. They are particularly useful for reducing clearance or backlash in opposed arrangements, and for assuring load sharing in multiple cam follower installations. Seals and hex socket are standard features of Cam-Centric™ adjustable cam followers. Crowned outer rings are also available.

Crowned Outer Rings are used to minimize outer ring thrusting in applications where the axis of the cam follower is not parallel to the surface of the track or is skewed relative to the direction of travel. Crowned outer rings are a good selection for use with curved or circular tracks. In well aligned applications, crowned outer rings can cause accelerated track wear.

Caged Roller Followers

Caged roller followers provide large internal grease storage capacity for applications where relubrication is infrequent. Cage guided rollers and a very heavy outer ring cross section permit operation at high loads and high speeds. Caged roller followers are available with and without seals. The unsealed design provides the additional advantages of very low friction to prevent skidding in lightly loaded applications and flow-through lubrication.

Caged roller followers normally mount directly on a hardened and ground pin. RBC offers a line of Precision Ground Inner Rings to simplify application of caged roller followers.

Material Handling Rollers and Sheaves

RBC offers a wide range of rollers and sheaves specifically designed for material handling applications-lifting, conveying, and power transmission. All RBC rollers and sheaves use heavy duty roller bearing construction which provides maximum dynamic and shock capacity for longer service life than ball bearing designs.

Lift Truck, Crane and Conveyor Rollers commonly referred to as mast guide rollers or carriage rollers, are used in lift truck masts and carriages, travelling cranes, and conveyor lines, where maximum capacity in an anti-friction roller is required. Sealed, lubricated-for-life versions are available.

Chain Sheave and Sprocket Idlers for BL-leaf and ANSI "rollerless" roller hoisting chain are essential components of hoisting systems such as lift trucks and car lifts. They are also used as track rollers and as tensioners in power transmission chain drives.

Airframe Track Rollers and Needle Bearings

Airframe track rollers and needle bearings are designed for high load carrying capability, light weight, and slow rotation or oscillatory motion. The exposed surfaces are plated to provide corrosion resistance. They are used in aircraft flap, slat and control applications, and in numerous non-aircraft applications.

Series NBC needle bearings offer high capacity, thin cross section and unitized construction. They are commonly used in pivots and linkages.

Series NBE and NBK needle bearings provide a spherical aligning outer ring to allow for misalignment. Applications and performance characteristics are otherwise similar to series NBC.

Series NBF and NBL track rollers are designed with heavy outer ring cross section for track roller applications. They offer a corrosion resistant alternative to conventional yoke type cam followers.