The term bearing is derived from the verb ‘to bear’, a bearing being a machine element that allows one part to bear (i.e., to support) another. Bearings are highly engineered, precision components that enable machinery to move at extremely high speeds and carry remarkable loads with ease and efficiency. Generally speaking, bearings are devices that are used to enable rotational or linear movement, while reducing friction and handling stress. Bearings are considered to be the most critical components of machinery.
Bearings are machine elements that constrain relative motion and reduce friction between moving parts to only the desired motion. The design of the bearings may provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotational around a fixed axis; or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the moving parts. Many bearings also facilitate the desired motion as much as possible, such as by minimizing friction.
Bearings can have many forms, but supports only two types of motions namely linear motion or rotary motion.
