How do ball bearings work?

Answer 1

A ball bearing is composed of an outer element, called the outer race and an inner elements called the inner race. there is a groove in the inside outer race and a groove on the outside of the inner race. With the help of spacers balls are inserted between the grooves mentioned above. A lubricant, a grease, covers the balls and the contact faces of the races. Bearings will give a relative motion between machine parts when used. Their function is to reduce friction.

Answer 2

The other writers wrote some good answers but mabe difficult to understand. Lets do a quick experiment so you can witness this first hand. Take two books and stack them up. Now slide the top one without sliding the bottom one.

Now, put 4 or 5 marbles in between the books and do the same thing. You will soon understand that much less force is required to move the top book because firction has been greatly reduced.

The "races" are used to keep the ball bearings in position.

Ball bearings are very important for high speed machinery- like the axles on your car or factory equipment. Without them, there would be much friction, which causes heat and mechanical parts to wear out.

Answer 3

In a ball bearing, the load is transmitted from the outer race to the ball, and from the ball to the inner race. Since the ball is a sphere, it only contacts the inner and outer race at a very small point, which helps it spin very smoothly. But it also means that there is not very much contact area holding that load, so if the bearing is overloaded, the balls can deform or squish, ruining the bearing.

1.A radial ball bearing uses axially symmetric inner and outer races that are shaped so a radial load passes radially through the bearing. Most radial designs also support modest axial loads.
2.An angular contact ball bearing uses axially asymmetric races. An angular load passes in a straight line through the bearing, whereas a radial load takes an oblique path that tends to separate the races axially.
3.An axial ball bearing uses side-by-side races. An axial load is transmitted directly through the bearing, while a radial load is poorly-supported, tends to separate the races, and anything other than a small radial load is likely to damage the bearing.
4.A deep-groove radial bearing is one in which the race dimensions are close to the dimensions of the balls that run in it. Deep-groove bearings have higher load ratings for their size than shallow-groove bearings, but are also less tolerant of misalignment of the inner and outer races. A misaligned shallow-groove bearing may support a larger load than a similar deep-groove bearing with similar misalignment.

Answer 4

By keeping moving parts separated when necessary.