Ball Bearing

grabcad

A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to keep the bearing races apart. The main job of a ball bearing is to cut down on rotational friction and handle radial and axial loads. It does this by using at least two races to hold the balls in place and pass the loads through them. In most cases, one race stays still while the other is attached to the rotating assembly (like a hub or shaft). When one of the bearing races spins around, it makes the balls spin too. Because the balls are rolling they have a much lower friction coefficient than if two flat surfaces were sliding against each other. Ball bearings tend to be able to handle less load for their size compared to other kinds of rolling-element bearings because the balls and races only touch at one small spot. Still, they can put up with some misalignment between the inner and outer races.