Rolling bearings

Rolling bearings are generally composed of rings (inner ring and outer ring), rolling elements (balls or rollers) and cages. That is, several rolling elements are arranged between the inner ring and the outer ring, and the cage keeps the rolling elements at a certain distance from each other, without contacting each other, to achieve a structure with smooth rolling motion.

1. Rings (inner ring and outer ring) or washers
The surface on which the rolling element rolls is called the "raceway surface", and this contact surface bears all the loads of the bearing. Usually the inner ring is matched with the shaft, and the outer ring is matched with the bearing seat. In thrust bearings, we generally call the rings "washers", the inner ring is called "shaft ring", and the outer ring is called "seat ring".
2. Rolling elements
Rolling elements are divided into two categories: balls and rollers. According to the shape of the rollers, they are generally divided into: cylindrical rollers, needle rollers, tapered rollers and spherical rollers. From a geometric point of view, the contact between the rolling element and the inner and outer ring raceway surfaces is point contact if the rolling element is a ball, and line contact if it is a roller. In theory, the rolling element revolves while rolling along the raceway surface.
3. Cage
The cage does not directly bear the load, it is only used to keep the rolling elements in the correct position at a certain distance, and prevent the rolling elements from falling off when the bearing is installed. Cages are classified according to different production methods, including stamping type, lathe type and integrated type cages.