Angular contact ball bearings have inner and outer ring raceways, which move relatively in the direction of the bearing axis. This means that these bearings are designed to accommodate combined loads.

The axial load carrying capacity of angular contact ball bearings increases with increasing contact angle. The contact angle is defined as the angle between the contact point of the ball and the line of the raceway on the radial plane. The combined load is transmitted from one raceway to another along this line and is perpendicular to the bearing shaft.

The most commonly used designs are:

Single row angular contact ball bearings

Double row angular contact ball bearings

Four point contact ball bearings