An angular contact bearing has a contact angle that can sustain significant radial and axial loads in one direction. Like other types of rolling-element bearings, it uses balls to carry a load and reduce rotational friction. Angular contact bearings are different from radial ball bearings, however, and their duty ratings vary by series.
Angular Contact Bearing Basics
Angular contact bearings have inner and outer ring raceways that are displaced relative to each other in the direction of the bearing axis. It’s this design that enables them to carry combined radial and axial loads. Because an axial component is generated when a radial load is applied, these products are used typically in pairs or multi-bearing sets, which allows for reversing (bi-directional) axial load capabilities.
Contact Angles
Angular contact bearings are available with various contact angles, but 15°, 30°, or 40° are typical. Larger contact angles have more capacity for axial loads, and smaller contact angles are recommended for high-speed rotation. When high running accuracy is critical, preloading is often used.
Preloaded Angular Contact Bearings
Preloading locks-in a precision axial displacement of the bearing’s outer ring relative to its inner ring. Importantly, it also improves bearing performance. The benefits of preloading angular contact bearings include increased load capacity, stiffer assembly, precise positioning, more consistent and predictable torque, noise and vibration suppression, and longer life.
Angular Contact Bearing Configurations
Angular contact bearings can be configured in face-to-face (DF), back-to-back (DB), tandem (DT), or universal configurations. They also support the use of custom configurations to optimize performance for a specific application. With custom angular contact bearings, both the permissible load directions and the stiffness depend on the arrangement.
Find Precision Bearings
Schatz Bearing Corporation of Poughkeepsie, New York designs and manufactures angular contact ball bearings for aerospace, defense, medical and semiconductor equipment, robotics, and applications that require precision. Contact us to discuss your application, and to learn more about the Made in USA products that we offer.
