Bearings
What is a Ball Bearing?
The Function of Ball Bearings
From small and large motors to car axles to electric fans and hard disc drives (HDDs),ball bearings are used in a wide array of machines for rotary motion.Ball bearings support rotary parts and reduce friction to facilitate the smoothoperation of machines.
Ball Bearing Components
Ball bearings are comprised of four major parts: a large ring (outer ring), a smallring (inner ring), balls between the rings (steel balls), and a cage to prevent theballs from hitting each other. The modern structure dates back to around 1500, whenLeonardo da Vinci invented ball bearings to reduce friction against the axles ofhorsedrawn carts. For more than 500 years, the ball bearing has been defined by this simple structure.