Full Ball Complement Bearing

Full complement ball bearings capitalise on the space usually occupied by the ball retainer, as removing the retainer enables additional balls to be fitted. This increase in ball complement allows for significant increases in bearing capacity in either axial or radial directions.

A filler notch bearing builds on existing deep groove bearing designs. Standard deep groove bearings are limited on the number of balls that can be fitted, effectively restricting the complement to 50% of the theoretical full complement. The introduction of a filler notch to both the inner and outer rings allows the remaining balls to be fitted.

The filler notch is ground into the ring so a dam is produced at the point of entry to the raceway. The dam, found on both rings, is calculated so that with the smallest ball and the maximum radial play, interference is maintained. After fitting the standard deep groove complement the notches are aligned and the balls pressed over the dams into the raceway.

The filler notch design bearing is primarily for use in applications where radial loads are dominant and the increased ball complements allow higher loads to be supported than in a standard caged deep groove bearing. Due to the introduction of a notch into each race on the same side, the filler notch design can be limited in its ability to carry axial load. For specific designs and applications the notch geometry can be optimised to carry an increased axial load in either one or both directions.