Needle roller bearings are used when the load carrying capacity or accuracy of drawn cup needle roller bearings with open ends is no longer sufficient and the high load capacity of cylindrical roller bearings is not yet required. Needle roller bearings place lower requirements on the dimensional accuracy, geometrical accuracy and hardness of the adjacent construction than needle roller bearings with open ends and with closed end. The standard bearings are:

• needle roller bearings with ribs, with or without inner ring
• needle roller bearings without ribs, with or without inner ring.

Bearings without an inner ring are highly suitable for bearing arrangements with particularly compact radial dimensions, if the shaft raceway can be hardened and ground. Bearings with an inner ring are used if the shaft cannot be configured as a rolling bearing raceway.