There are two general approaches to mounting bearings into roller tubes and variations on both of those styles.

• Press & Swage Fit (also known as Crimp Fit)
  The roller tube inside diameter is slightly smaller than the body diameter of the bearing. The bearing is first pressed mechanically or hydraulically into the tube. The perimeter edge of the roller tube is then mechanically or hydraulically “crimped” or rolled tight to the body of the bearing using special tooling designed for that purpose.


• Press Fit
  The roller tube inside diameter is smaller than the body diameter of the bearing and the bearing is pressed mechanically or hydraulically into the tube using a special adapter.


• Slip & Swage Fit (also known as Crimp Fit)
  The roller tube inside diameter is slightly larger than the body diameter of the bearing. The bearing is dropped or slipped loosely into the tube. The perimeter edge of the roller tube is then mechanically or hydraulically “crimped” or rolled tight to the body of the bearing using special tooling designed for that purpose. This method is more economical than Press and Swage Fit and is best used on gravity conveyor applications where precise concentricity is not a requirement.


• Counterbore & Press Fit
  The roller tube inside diameter is considerably smaller than the body diameter of the bearing. An operation is performed to counterbore the inside wall of the tube. A second operation uses Press Fit to push the bearing into the tube and seat it against the base of the counterbore.

See Resources >> Technical Information >> Conveyor Bearing Mounting Specifications for a detailed discussion of Press & Swage and Press Fit bearing mounts.

Quality mounting is directly proportional to the life of the bearing and its performance.