Radial and thrust bearings

Rolling bearings are divided into two categories according to the main load direction:

Radial bearing

The radial bearing can bear the load perpendicular to the shaft. Some radial bearings can only bear pure radial load, while most radial bearings can also bear axial load in one direction. In some cases, they can also bear axial load in two directions

thrust bearing

The thrust bearing mainly bears the load along the axial direction. According to its design, the thrust bearing can support one-way or two-way pure axial load, and some can bear additional radial load (combined load). The thrust bearing cannot reach the same high speed as the radial bearing of the same size.

The contact angle determines which category the bearing belongs to. The bearings with contact angle ≤ 45 ° are radial bearings and others are thrust bearings.