Self-Aligning Ball Bearings
Rolling Bearings
Self-aligning ball bearings have two rows of balls and a common spherical raceway of the outer ring, which allows the inner ring to pivot, which enables relatively large short time or permanent angular variations and makes the bearings insensitive to misalignment from shaft to housing. Self-aligning ball bearings allow misalignments between 2° and 4° without loss of performance. With sealed versions, the possible misalignment is limited to 0.5°.
This type of rolling bearings has the lowest friction of all bearing types, allows relatively high speeds, and absorbs radial loads. Due to the design, only very low axial loads are possible.
The common dimensions are delivered with a plastic cage. Larger dimensions have a cage made of sheet steel or solid brass.
Usually, self-aligning ball bearings are installed in bearing housings. In addition to a cylindrical bore, a version with a tapered bore is supplied, whereby assembly is carried out using tapered clamping sleeves.
Another variant is self-aligning ball bearings with a wide inner ring that protrudes from the outer ring on both sides. A stud screw on the inner ring serves as a safeguard against wandering and twisting.
