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You are here: Home / Ball Bearings / What is a “floating” bearing arrangement?

What is a “floating” bearing arrangement?

August 28, 2015 By Mike Santora

SKF-floating-bearing-diagram-example
Image courtesy of SKF

There are usually two bearings involved in the rotating machine components of a mechanical system. Depending on several factors such as load, cost and necessary running accuracy, engineers use a few different types of bearing arrangements. One of these types is a “floating” bearing arrangement.

Two bearings support and locate a shaft axially and radially in relation to the housing, which is stationary. There is “fixed” side and a “floating” side. The fixed side controls the shaft axially. The floating side has more freedom of movement (floating) to help compensate for misalignment and thermal expansion or contraction.

Floating bearing arrangements are common with self-aligning ball bearings, deep groove ball bearings and spherical roller bearings.

For information on whether or not preloading is necessary in some bearing applications click here.

Filed Under: Ball Bearings Tagged With: SKF

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard Haines says

    September 11, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    Should the floating bearing be the coupling side, input. Or should it sit on the opposite side of the drive.

  2. NM says

    September 26, 2016 at 5:38 am

    It should be located at the non drive end.

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