7212 bearing: complete specifications & equivalents

Specification table

Source: catalog reference (SKF PUB BU/P1 17000/1 EN (Oct 2018), ch. 3.1 single-row ACBB) · extracted 2026-09-26

Parameters extracted from the official SKF Rolling Bearings catalogue (SKF PUB BU/P1 17000/1 EN (Oct 2018), ch. 3.1 single-row ACBB); SKF® and SKF Explorer® are trademarks of AB SKF, used here for identification only — mpnbase is not an authorized SKF distributor. Boundary dimensions are ISO 15 interchangeable; current production values may differ, verify at skf.com.

Cross references & equivalents

Interchange levels: full standard interchange · partial verify parameters · verify manual confirmation required. Links resolve to the equivalent model's specification page where available.

How the 7212 model number is decoded

In SKF catalogue PUB BU/P1 17000, 7212 appears as 7212 BEP: a 40° contact-angle, open, one-direction-thrust ball bearing in the light (7200) series, supplied with a glass-fibre PA66 cage as standard.Reading the designation: the leading 7 marks a single-row angular-contact ball bearing, the 2 is ISO diameter series 2 (light section), and the last two digits encode the 60 mm bore; the 110 mm OD and 22 mm width follow the ISO 15 general plan. The letters mean B = 40° angle, E = enhanced ball complement and race geometry, P = PA66 glass-fibre cage, so this 7212 is the open polymer-caged execution rather than the sealed or brass-cage catalogue variants. The 25.0 mm radial section height ((110−60)/2) and 800 g catalogue mass frame a 60 mm bore bearing rated at 57.2 kN C — roughly 0.95 kN of dynamic capacity per millimetre of bore before application factors. Note the minimum-axial-load requirement: at light radial load and high speed the balls of 7212 must still be held into the contact ellipse, which is another reason the catalogue recommends paired mounting with controlled preload on 60 mm shaft positions.

Typical equipment & failure modes

Selection pitfalls — read before you substitute

• Mount the 60 mm bore 7212 by induction heating of the inner ring (max 120 °C — the PA66 cage sets the ceiling, not the steel); driving it home through the outer ring or balls brinells the asymmetric raceway.
• The 72xx light section at 60 mm bore is the general-purpose angular-contact envelope (110×22 mm); stepping up to a 7312 changes OD, width and heat generation — it is not a drop-in swap when the housing and speed are fixed.
• Preload is a design value, not an assembly feel: excessive preload in the 7212 pair raises operating temperature and can trigger thermal runaway back-to-back, while too little lets the balls skid and smear the raceway under light load.
• DB (back-to-back) pairs are stiffer against moments, DF (face-to-face) pairs tolerate misalignment and thermal growth better; choosing the arrangement from the 2D drawing rather than the actual shaft thermal expansion is a common 7212 mounting error.
• Open 7212 units need application-supplied sealing and a defined lubricant supply; in oil lubrication keep the oil level below the lowest rolling element or churning raises temperature well beyond the catalogue speed figures.
• The 57.2/45.5 kN ratings are SKF catalogue 17000 values for the 7212 BEP execution; SKF can revise internal geometry without changing the order number, so keep the catalogue version (PUB BU/P1 17000/1 EN, 2018) with the specification and re-verify for critical drives.
• SKF lists several executions of 7212 (BEP basic, BECBP universally matchable, BE-2RZP sealed, BECBM brass-cage, ACC-series at 25°); they are not interchangeable order numbers — quote the full 7212 BEP designation when purchasing and match the execution to the mounting arrangement.
• A plain 7212 BEP is a single open bearing, not a universally matchable one; to mount a defined DB/DF pair order the BECBP (CB) execution — pairing two unmatched basic units gives uncontrolled preload because the side faces are not ground for set mounting.