Four-point contact ball bearings are radial single row angular contact ball bearings with raceways that are designed to support axial loads in both directions. For a given axial load, a limited radial load can be supported. These bearings take up considerably less axial space than double row bearings.
The inner ring is split. This enables a large number of balls to be incorporated in the bearing, giving the bearing its high load carrying capacity. The bearings are separable, i.e. the outer ring with ball and cage assembly can be mounted separately from the two inner ring halves.
Both inner ring halves of Explorer four-point contact ball bearings have a recessed shoulder. This improves oil flow when the bearing is used together with an cylindrical roller bearing. In addition, these recesses can be used to facilitate dismounting.
The standard assortment offour-point contact ball bearings comprises bearings in the QJ 2 and QJ 3 series.
Cages
With the exception of full complement bearings, all rolling bearings contain a cage. The number of cages depends on the number of ball or roller sets within the bearing and on the cage design