Thrust Ball Bearings
Overview
Thrust ball bearings are designed to take axial (thrust) loads at high speeds, but they cannot handle any radial loads. These bearings feature bearing washers with raceway grooves in which the balls move.
Thrust ball bearings are classified into “flat seat” and “aligning seat” types, based on the shape of the housing washer (outer ring seat), and as single-direction or double-direction. Spherical and aligning seat washers help to provide tolerance for mounting errors.
Product List
Single-direction thrust ball bearings are comprised of two bearing washers (a shaft washer and a housing washer) and a single cage containing the balls. They can sustain axial loads in one direction.
Features
- Specialized design
A cage contains the balls while the grooved aligning seat washer guides them. - Dedicated components
Washers attached to the shaft are called “shaft washers” and those attached to the housing are called “housing washers” (fixed rings). - Support axial loads
Single-direction thrust ball bearings can take axial loads in one direction.
Applications
- Printer peripheral equipment, ball screw support sections of precision positioning stages, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), radial drilling machines, fishing reels
Double-direction thrust ball bearings use three washers, with two cages containing the balls. This shaft washer is sandwiched between the two cages, allowing the bearing to take axial loads in both directions.
Features
- Specialized design
A cage contains the balls while the grooved aligning seat washer guides them. - Dedicated components
Washers attached to the shaft are called “shaft washers” and those attached to the housing are called “housing washers”. - Support axial loads in both directions
True to their name, double-direction thrust ball bearings can sustain axial loads in both directions. Models with aligning seat washers are alaso available to help reduce the effects of mounting errors.
Applications
- Vacuum pumps, disc hubs in agricultural machinery, compressors, press machines, clutch breakers
FAQs
Axial load and thrust load are different words for the same concept: They both refer to loads parallel to the axis of the shaft.
No, thrust ball bearings cannot take radial loads.Catalogs
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