Self-Aligning Bearings

Self-aligning ball bearings feature two rows of balls, a shared spherical raceway in the outer ring, and two deep, uninterrupted raceway grooves in the inner ring. They come in both open and sealed variations. These bearings are designed to tolerate angular misalignment of the shaft relative to the housing, which might occur due to shaft deflection, for example. The unique spherical shape of the outer ring allows the inner ring, cage, and balls to pivot in relation to it, accommodating angular misalignment typically ranging from 1° to 3°, which can be a result of mounting mistakes or shaft bending. Additionally, these bearings produce less heat, enabling them to operate cooler and achieve higher rotational speeds when compared to spherical roller bearings. They are effective in managing radial loads and light axial loads, although their capacity for axial loads is lower than that of deep-groove or angular-contact bearings.