Self Aligning Bearings – Self-aligning ball bearings have a spherical raceway in the outer ring with a center of curvature matched with the bearing center. This allows the inner ring, balls, and cage to rotate freely around the bearing center, maintaining alignment. Since they have a small contact angle, self-aligning ball bearings have low axial load capacity. Self-aligning ball bearings suit applications where shaft bending occurs and where it is difficult to align the shaft and housing (transmission shafts, etc.)