Dimensional and installation data for the 55 mm bore size of 6400 Series Deep Groove Ball Bearings, dimensioned to ISO 15 / DIN 625-1 / GB/T 276. Selection is by bore diameter — the bearing designation is what the shaft is machined to — so the figures below start with the boundary dimensions and go on to the fits, the clearance and the mounting method that make them work.
55 mm Bore Dimensional Row (ISO 15 / DIN 625-1 / GB/T 276)
| Designation | Bore d (mm) | Outer diameter D (mm) | Width B (mm) | Chamfer r min (mm) | Basic dynamic load rating Cr (kN) | Basic static load rating C0r (kN) | Limiting speed grease (rpm) | Mass (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6411 | 55 | 140 | 33 | 2.1 | 99.5 | 62.0 | 3800 | 2.85 |
What a 6400 Series Deep Groove Ball Bearings Does
A single row of balls runs in deep, uninterrupted grooves in both rings. That geometry gives low friction, quiet running and a useful axial capacity in both directions alongside the radial load, which is why the deep groove ball bearing is the default choice for electric motors, pumps, fans, gearbox layshafts and small machinery wherever the load is moderate and the shaft is stiff.
Primarily radial load, with a real but secondary axial capacity in both directions taken by the groove shoulders. Combined loading is normal service for this type; pure heavy thrust is not, and a bearing asked to work as a thrust bearing runs its contact ellipse over the groove edge.
Load Ratings at 55 mm Bore
| Basic dynamic load rating Cr | 99.5 kN |
|---|---|
| Basic static load rating C0r | 62 kN |
The dynamic rating Cr is the load at which the bearing reaches one million revolutions of basic rating life with 90% reliability, and it is the number that goes into L10 = (C/P)^p — p being 3 for ball bearings and 10/3 for roller bearings. The static rating C0r is the load that produces a permanent deformation of 0.0001 of the rolling element diameter at the most heavily loaded contact, and it is the figure that matters for a bearing that is loaded while it is standing still, shock loaded, or oscillating through a small angle.
Ratings are not fixed by standard. ISO 281 fixes the METHOD; the values are declared by the manufacturer from the internal geometry, so figures for the same designation differ by a few percent between makers. Use one maker's rating with that maker's bearing.
Speed at 55 mm Bore
Two speed figures are quoted for rolling bearings and they mean different things. The reference speed is a thermal figure: the speed at which the heat the bearing generates balances the heat it can lose under defined reference conditions. The limiting speed is a mechanical one — the speed beyond which the cage, the seals or the lubricant retention cannot cope, whatever the thermal balance says. Neither is a target; both are ceilings, and a sealed bearing, a heavier grease or a contact seal lowers them. For this size the tabulated grease-lubricated limiting speed is 3,800 rpm, which at a mean diameter dm of 97.5 mm — the average of the 55 mm bore and the 140 mm outside diameter — is a dmn value of about 371,000 mm·rpm. dmn is the figure to carry into a lubricant selection, because it is speed scaled by size: the same rev/min is a mild duty on a small bearing and a severe one on a large bearing.
Shaft & Housing Fit for a 55 mm Seat
With the inner ring rotating under a load whose direction is fixed, the inner ring sees a circumferential load and must be an interference fit, or it will creep on the shaft and fret it. The outer ring sees a point load and takes a transition or clearance fit so that it can shift slowly and spread the wear — and so that one of the two bearings on the shaft is free to take up axial expansion.
| Shaft, light load (P ≤ 0.06 C) | j6 |
|---|---|
| Shaft, normal load (P = 0.06–0.12 C) | k5 or k6 |
| Shaft, heavy or shock load (P > 0.12 C) | n6 |
| Housing — Axial displacement of the outer ring required | H7 |
| Housing — Normal load, outer ring may still shift | J7 |
| Housing — Normal to heavy load, quiet running, outer ring not displaceable | K7 |
ISO 286-2 tolerance grades, applied per the conventional bearing seat recommendations of ISO 1132-2 and DIN 5425-1, for a SOLID STEEL shaft in a cast iron or steel housing. A hollow shaft, a thin-walled housing or a light alloy housing needs a tighter fit than these, because the seat itself deflects.
Radial Internal Clearance at 55 mm Bore
Radial internal clearance is the total distance one ring can be moved relative to the other, across the bearing, before it is mounted. It is not a tolerance and not a quality grade: it is a quantity that gets USED UP on installation. An interference fit on the shaft expands the inner ring; a tight housing fit compresses the outer ring; and a shaft that runs hotter than its housing grows more than the housing does. All three subtract from the clearance the bearing was made with. C3 exists for that reason. Specify it when the shaft fit is heavier than normal, when the inner ring will run 10 °C or more above the outer, when a hollow or heated shaft is involved, or when the bearing sits on an adapter sleeve that is driven up hard. Specify CN — normal, and usually left out of the designation entirely — for the ordinary case of a moderate fit on a shaft close to housing temperature. The failure this prevents is specific and quick: fit a CN bearing with a heavy interference on a shaft that then runs hot, and the residual clearance goes negative. The bearing is now preloaded by its own installation, the rolling elements are squeezed, friction and temperature rise together, and the temperature rise tightens the fit further. It runs hot, then it runs blue, and the raceways spall long before the calculated life.
| CN (normal), bore over 50 up to 65 mm | 8–28 µm |
|---|---|
| C3 (greater than normal) | 23–43 µm |
| C2 (smaller than normal) | 1–15 µm |
| C4 (greater than C3) | 38–61 µm |
Pre-mounting values per ISO 5753-1 / GB/T 4604 for single row deep groove ball bearings with a cylindrical bore. Other bearing types have their own tables in the same standard with different values.
Abutment Shoulder & Fillet Radius for 55 mm
The chamfer dimension r min for this size is 2.1 mm. That figure is a limit on YOUR machining, not just on the bearing: the fillet radius in the corner of the shaft or the housing must be smaller than the bearing's corner radius, or the ring seats on the fillet instead of on the shoulder face and is loaded on its corner.
| Chamfer dimension r min (from the table) | 2.1 mm |
|---|---|
| Maximum fillet radius on the shaft or housing | 2.1 mm |
| Shaft shoulder must exceed | 59.2 mm diameter |
| Housing shoulder bore must be under | 135.8 mm diameter |
The two shoulder figures are the geometric floor and ceiling: a shoulder outside them fouls the corner radius instead of bearing on the ring face. The practical values sit inside them — the shoulder must contact the ring face over a useful area without touching the seal, the cage or the opposite ring, and it must still leave room for a puller when the bearing is dismounted. Take the working da and Da from the abutment table for the bearing; the ring shoulder height they are built on is not a boundary dimension and is not in this table.
Mounting a 55 mm Bore 6400 Series Deep Groove Ball Bearings
The ring that carries the rotating load takes an interference fit; the ring under a stationary point load takes a transition or clearance fit so that it can creep slowly and spread the wear, and so that one ring is free to take up axial expansion. With a rotating shaft under a fixed load direction, that means an interference fit on the shaft and a looser fit in the housing. Press only against the ring being fitted — force driven through the rolling elements leaves brinell marks in the raceway before the bearing has run a revolution.
At a 55 mm bore the interference is small enough that a cold press or a light hydraulic press is normally enough; heating the bearing in an induction heater or an oil bath to 80–100 °C above the shaft is the alternative, and never above 120 °C for a standard-stabilized bearing. Keep the heated bearing pressed against the shoulder while it cools, because it shrinks axially as well as radially.
Lubrication & Relubrication
Grease is the normal lubricant for this type: it stays where it is put, helps to keep contamination out, and needs no circulation system. Fill roughly 30% to 50% of the free space in the bearing arrangement — a bearing packed full runs hot, because the excess grease is churned rather than used. The relubrication interval is not a fixed figure; it falls with speed, with temperature and with load, and it halves for roughly every 15 °C of temperature rise above about 70 °C. Where speed, temperature or the required interval put grease out of reach, change to oil.
Sealed-for-life versions carry their whole service life of grease inside the seals and cannot be relubricated. That is the right choice where the bearing is inaccessible and the duty is mild; it is the wrong one where the temperature is high, the environment is wet, or the required life is longer than the grease life — and the grease, not the steel, is what ends it.
Failure Modes and What They Look Like
- Subsurface fatigue (spalling) — a flake of raceway lifts out and the bearing gets noisy and rough. This is the failure the L10 life calculation predicts — if it arrives near the calculated life the bearing did its job, and if it arrives early the load, the fit or the lubrication was not what the calculation assumed.
- Inadequate lubrication — a polished, then discoloured, then torn raceway, running hot with a darkened grease. It is the most common cause of early failure by a wide margin, and the interval, not the grease, is usually what was wrong.
- Contamination — dents in the raceway with raised edges, then premature spalling from those dents. Wear particles, casting sand and washdown water all do it; sealing and filtration are what prevent it.
- False brinelling and fretting — evenly spaced dull marks at ball or roller pitch, produced by vibration while the shaft is stationary — a machine that travels on a truck, or a standby pump beside a running one. It is not caused by overload and cannot be cured by fitting a bigger bearing.
- Loss of internal clearance — the whole raceway path is loaded, the bearing runs hot from installation and it discolours evenly. The fit was too heavy, the shaft ran hotter than the housing, or a CN bearing was fitted where C3 was needed.
- Skidding under light load — smeared, matte patches on the raceway. A ball or thrust bearing that is not loaded enough to make its rolling elements roll lets them slide instead, and the film breaks down where they scuff.
Where NOT to Use a 6400 Series Deep Groove Ball Bearings
- Do not use a deep groove ball bearing as a thrust bearing. Its axial capacity is a secondary property of the groove shoulders, and under pure heavy axial load the contact ellipse rides over the shoulder edge and the raceway breaks up there.
- Do not use one where the shaft misaligns. A deep groove bearing tolerates only a few minutes of arc; beyond that it edge-loads. Use a self-aligning ball bearing, a spherical roller bearing or a housed unit instead.
- Do not expect a 2RS bearing to survive a hot washdown. A standard nitrile contact seal is a lip running on steel, not a pressure seal: a 80 °C detergent wash drives past it and into the grease, and the bearing fails from water, not from load.
Stepping Up or Down from 55 mm
Within the same series, the next bore up in this series is 60 mm and the next bore down is 50 mm. Changing bore changes the shaft, so it is the last thing to change: when the calculated life at 55 mm is short, the first move is to a heavier diameter series at the SAME bore — the 6300 envelope instead of the 6200, for instance — which raises the rating without touching the shaft. The second is to change type: a roller bearing carries far more radial load than a ball bearing of the same envelope.
