FAG23038-E1A-XL-MDouble Row Spherical Roller Bearing, 190 x 290 x 75 mm, Cylindrical Bore, Solid Brass Cage, X-life — 1,080 kN Dynamic

Product Description

What this part is

A Schaeffler FAG double row spherical roller bearing, 190 mm bore, 290 mm outside diameter, 75 mm wide, with a straight cylindrical bore and a solid machined brass cage. Two rows of barrel rollers run in a single spherical outer raceway, so the inner ring and roller set can swivel inside the outer ring — the bearing accommodates misalignment and shaft deflection rather than fighting it.

This is a large, expensive, high-capacity bearing and it is specified for a reason: 1,080 kN dynamic capacity in a 290 mm outside diameter. Vibrating screens, crushers, mills, large conveyor pulleys, fan shafts and process rolls are where this ends up — applications with heavy or shock load, long shafts, and housings that cannot be held to machine-tool alignment.

Decoding the designation

23038: Double row spherical roller bearing, 230 dimension series, bore code 38 (190 mm). The 230 series is the low-section, wide family.

E1: FAG’s uprated internal design, optimised raceway geometry and materials giving a higher load rating than the preceding build at the same envelope.

A: Internal design variant within the E1 family.

XL: X-life, Schaeffler’s premium performance class. X-life bearings are held to tighter surface finish and geometry tolerances, which raises the calculated rating and the achievable life at a given load.

M: Solid machined brass cage.

No K: This is a cylindrical bore, mounted directly on a machined shaft seat rather than on an adapter sleeve. The tapered-bore sibling at the same boundary dimensions is the 23038-E1A-XL-K-M.

Why the brass cage and the cylindrical bore both matter:
The M cage is a genuine specification difference, not a preference. A solid machined brass cage tolerates high temperature, oil-mist and oil-jet lubrication, aggressive synthetic lubricants and shock load in ways a polymer or pressed-steel cage does not. On a crusher or a screen — shock load, high vibration, hot housings — the cage is often what fails first, and brass is why this build is chosen. It also means the bearing can be heat-mounted without concern for cage material limits.

The cylindrical bore is equally consequential in the opposite direction. A cylindrical-bore spherical roller bearing is mounted by interference fit directly onto a machined shaft seat. That fit consumes internal radial clearance, so the shaft seat tolerance is what determines residual clearance; there is no drive-up distance to measure and adjust. A housing arrangement built around a tapered-bore bearing on an adapter sleeve takes the K version instead. The two carry the same nominal number and the same boundary dimensions.

Published ratings and mounting data

Bore (d): 190 mm, cylindrical.

Outside diameter (D): 290 mm.

Width (B): 75 mm.

Dynamic radial load rating Cr: 1,080,000 N / 1,080 kN.

Static radial load rating C0r: 1,550,000 N / 1,550 kN.

Limiting speed: 2,490 rpm.

Cage: Solid machined brass (M).

Internal clearance: Normal, no C-suffix on this designation.

Performance class: X-life.

Standard: DIN 635-2, 230-E1A series.

Number of rows: 2.

Rolling elements: Barrel rollers, two rows.

The static rating exceeding the dynamic by nearly half is characteristic of large spherical roller bearings with many rollers in contact, and it is the number that governs on a screen or a crusher — where the bearing spends much of its life under shock and standing load and the failure mode is raceway indentation rather than fatigue.

Quantity and configuration

Sold as 1 Pc — one complete bearing: both rings, both roller rows and the solid machined brass cage. This is the plain open build with a solid outer ring; outer-ring relubrication through a groove and feed holes is the separate W33 designation. Confirm which build the housing arrangement calls for before substituting.

Interchange guidance

Search forms include 23038-E1A-XL-M, 23038E1AXLM, 23038-E1A-M, 23038 E1A XL M, 23038E1AM, 23038-E1A, 23038M, 23038. Related Schaeffler builds at the same envelope: 23038-E1A-XL-M-C3 and -C4 (looser clearance), 23038-E1A-XL-K-M-C3 (tapered bore), and W33 variants where outer-ring lubrication is required. Same-envelope equivalents from other makers: SKF 23038 CC/W33 and 23038 CCK/W33; NSK, NTN and Koyo 23038; Timken 23038. In every case verify bore type (cylindrical vs K tapered), clearance class and the W33 designation before treating any of them as a drop-in.