 Self-aligning ball bearings have two rows of balls and a spherical raceway in their outer ring. They are particularly designed to accommodate misalignment on shaft or housing, making this type  of ball bearing best suitable for applications where shaft deflection or misaligned mounting conditions are expected to occur.

 self-aligning ball bearings are largely used in light to medium belt conveyors and wood working machineries. In some cases, they can also be found in high-speed machineries such as spinning machines.