When conventional steel ball bearings are not suitable for the application, consider ceramic ball bearings. Especially, when high temperatures occur or bearings are used in combination with agressive liquids. Technical ceramic materials were developed in the 1960s and 70s for space programs and aviation applications.
Nowadays, these materials are common used in the semi-conductor industry and for (high) vacuum applications.

A ball bearing contains:
- an inner race
- balls (rolling elements)
- (cage)
- an outer race

Different materials can be combined to achieve the best ceramic ball bearing for your application.

We choose the following combination of materials for our standard, default ball bearings:
- Zirconia (ZrO2) for the inner race, the outer race and the balls
- PTFE for the cage construction

Zirconia
The thermal expansion and density of Zirconia is closer to steel than that of any other ceramic material. Other technical ceramics give good thermal shock resistance. Best used under low loads and moderate speeds, zirconia bearings are used in high temperature and highly corrosive applications. Do you prefer Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) for your application, please contact us for further details.

PTFE
Our stock item ceramic ball bearings are open, which means without seals and a cage construction made from PTFE. The function of the cage is to devide the space between the rolling elements, in this case the ceramic balls. Main advantage of the PTFE cage is the chemical resistance. Our stock item ceramic ball bearings can be used up to a temperature of 200 degrees.
For vacuum applications, we recommend to select a cage made from PEEK (Polyether Ketone). This material is wellknown for its low particle generation and will not out-gas in vacuum.
Do you prefer a PEEK cage in your ceramic ball bearing, please contact us for further details.

P6/ABEC3
Our default ceramic ball bearings are selected according to ISO492 class P6. This is equal to ABEC3.
Do you need a more precise run, like P5 or P4, please contact us for further details.

Internal clearance
The standard radial clearance for our ceramic ball bearings meets class C0. As common used for conventional steel ball bearings a class C3 radial play can be obtained for ceramic ball bearings too. Do you need C3 radial clearance for you application, please contact us for further details.