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As the automotive industry pushes toward electrification, even core components like bearings are undergoing a significant transformation. From material changes to digital integration, the evolution of bearing technology is becoming central to light-weighting strategies.
At the 2025 edition of the Autocar Professional Vehicle Light-weighting Webinar, Dr Lokesh Agrawal, CTO at NBC Bearings, offered a deep dive into the technical advancements driving this shift.
Headquartered in Jaipur, NBC Bearings is one of India’s largest bearing manufacturers and exporters. It is part of the CK Birla Group with more than 50 manufacturing facilities globally. The company has a footprint across sectors such as automotive, aerospace, industries and railways.
Bearings play a crucial role in vehicles by allowing parts to rotate smoothly, reducing friction, and supporting mechanical loads. Without them, systems like wheels, engines, and steering would deteriorate quickly due to constant metal-to-metal contact.
“In bearing design, even saving 1–2 grams can significantly impact light-weighting and system performance. Each sector demands lightweight, but also durability and precision. Light-weighting isn’t just about shaving grams, it’s about achieving optimal performance with minimum material,” Dr Agrawal said.
The company is not only ensuring light weight, but also looking at light performance. “When we look at ourselves as a company, we are no more a product company, we are a solution provider and we look at the component in which we are going to launch. To ensure that we are providing the right optimum geometry, optimum weight, optimum material, so that we do not compromise either on safety and performance or durability,” Dr Agrawal said.
“We identify the areas where the loads are not taken, and explore if we can use a different type of material for lightweight, but not compromising the fatigue,” Dr Agrawal explained. “One of the key changes we’ve implemented is the use of non-metallic cages. These polyamide or specialty plastic cages significantly reduce the weight of high-speed bearings.”
The reduced mass of polyamide cages also contributes to lower centrifugal force during operation, which translates to less friction and longer life. “Lower cage weight means lower centrifugal force. That leads to reduced friction and, importantly, extends the bearing life,” he noted.
However, adopting non-metallic cages also introduces new manufacturing challenges, particularly in terms of production volume and assembly processes. “It brings different challenges in production volume and assembly, but the performance gain justifies it.”
Another key development discussed was the shift to integrated bearing designs. Dr Agrawal said, “Smaller bearings, we don’t have enough cross-sectional space. So we’ve developed integrated flange bearings known as Gen 3 and Gen 4 that combine multiple components into a single unit, allowing us to reduce weight while still meeting performance requirements.”
NBC is also equipping its bearings with sensor technology, adding intelligence to what was once a purely mechanical component, Dr Agrawal said. “Sensor bearings provide critical input for prognostic capabilities and feed data into digital twin models. This helps us reduce safety factors, leading to material savings and improved lightweighting. By combining physical models with real-time data, we can not only predict when a bearing begins to degrade or fail, but also optimize design without over-engineering.”
The company is also making advancements beyond. “One more important factor we consider beyond just the choice of material is the heat treatment process, which directly affects the mechanical properties. Several measures are taken at this stage to ensure we achieve the right balance of durability, performance, and light-weighting at the lowest possible cost,” Dr Agrawal said.
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