Ball Bearings

About Ball Bearings and Ball Bearing Manufacturers, Including: Angular Contact Bearings, Automotive Bearings, Bearings, Ceramic Ball Bearings,  Deep Groove Ball Bearings, Miniature Bearings, Pillow Block Bearings, Precision Ball Bearings, Roller Bearings, Sealed Bearings, Steel Ball Bearings and Thrust Bearings.

The use of ball bearings is common in many industrial and commercial settings. These bearings allow for smooth movement of parts or whole pieces of equipment and without these components one would be replacing parts often that were worn because of friction. Ball bearing manufacturers make parts that consist of inner and outer rings, inner and outer raceways, balls and a ball cage. The inner and outer raceways are the areas or tracks that the balls follow. The inner raceway is located on the surface of the inner ring and the outer raceway is located on the surface of the outer ring. The raceways provide a smooth track and unstopped motion for the balls.
 
The smooth motion of ball bearings allows for ease of movement. Ball bearings reduce the amount of friction between an object, which allows for heavier objects to be moved more easily. For this reason, ball bearings are commonly used in assembly lines and as part of a conveyor belt system where they can be used individually or with a spacer to create a long assembly line. However, ball bearing manufacturers can also be found in engines or on skate boards and inline skates, and are often used when rotary motion is needed.
 
Ball bearings encounter and react to two types of loads. A bearing used in a rotating bar stool is subject to a thrust load, which comes from the weight of the person sitting on the stool. Radial load, however, is experienced by a bearing used as part of a conveyer or pulley system, which gives a bearing a consistent rotating tension that comes from the belt or pulley. Most ball bearings are capable of handling both thrust and radial loads. But specific design allows for certain bearings to handle differing proportions of each load type based on for what the bearing is used.
 
Ball bearings are typically made out of steel or ceramic, and may require some type of lubrication in order to operate correctly. The most common lubricant for ball bearings is grease. Recent improvements in lubrication have added long life to ball bearings. This also cuts down on the need for replacement and maintenance. Although most ball bearings are sealed and will not require additional grease, some come with a grease cup and need to occasionally be re-greased. The ball bearing manufacturers and providers of ball bearings have a wide variety of sizes and dimensions of bearings to choose from as well as load capacity strength.

Types of Ball Bearings

• Angular contact bearings are a type of radial bearing that are designed so that the contact angle between the races and the balls is created when the bearing is in use.
  
• Automotive bearings describe many types of bearings used for automotive purposes.
  
• ABEC Bearings are also sometimes called precision bearings; these bearings are rated on a scale from 1 to 9 based on precision standards.
  
• Bearings are components that are used in between moving parts.
• Ceramic ball bearings are made of steel rings and ceramic balls (instead of steel).
  
• Counterbored ball bearings have one race shoulder turned and ground away to facilitate an assembly with a greater number of balls. Can also be a non-separable ball bearing with one side of the raceway removed from either or both rings to assist manufacturing assembly; normally the outer ring is counterbored.
  
• Deep groove bearings are a type of radial bearing that have a cage assembly, which separates the balls and is used for radial and axial loads.
  
• Linear bearings move objects that need only be moved in one direction and possibly back to an original position. (Linear Bearings)
  
• Maximum capacity bearings allow for more balls to be loaded into the bearing using the filling notches.
  
• Miniature bearings are a smaller bearing, typically under 10mm bores. A single row style of bearing capable of handling smaller torque loads.
  
• Precision bearings are composed of materials that are subjected to severe stress reversals.
  
• Radial ball bearings move in both directions and can handle large loads. The most widely used and recognizable ball bearing.
  
• Roller bearings can handle higher load capacities than standard ball bearings. These consist of cylindrical rollers as the motion component of the bearing.
  
• Self-Aligning bearings consist of two rows of balls and a spherical raceway in the outer ring. These bearings are known for limited problems with misalignment.
  
• Skate bearings are used for inline skates and skateboards.  These utilize balls as the motion component for the bearing.
  
• Steel ball bearings are made of steel materials.
  
• Thrust bearings are designed to handle just thrust and minimum amounts of it, such as in the case of a Lazy Susan or Barstool.