The Ceramic hybrid bearings have the characteristics such as heat resistance, extended life, light weight, lower thermal expansion, electrical non- conductance and thus can be used in an infinite number of applications. It has been found that there are several common designs of ball bearings they can be made from many different materials, including: stainless steel, chrome steel, and ceramic (silicon nitride (Si3N4)). A hybrid ball bearing is a bearing with ceramic balls and races of metal. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings use these ceramic balls in place of steel balls. They are constructed with steel inner and outer rings.

There are three types of Ceramic Ball Bearings;

 1. Ceramic Hybrid Ball Bearings : Where the rolling elements, or balls, are ceramic, but the inner and outer rings are still conventional steels.
 
 2. Partial Ceramic Ball Bearings: Where the rolling elements, and the inner ring are ceramic, but the outer ring is still made of steel.
 
 3. Full Ceramic Ball Bearings: Where the rolling elements, inner, and outer rings are made of silicon nitride.
 

The execellent characteristic of the ceramic ball beraings are :-

Lightweight : As the density of the ceramic ball bearings is 40% lower than that of steel, which allows the centrifugal force from the rolling elements lower, thus extending the life of the bearing.

Low Coefficient of Linear Expansion : In applications involving high speed operation, although the temperature of the bearing is high, this low coefficient results in lower preload and lower heat generation.

Low Friction : The slip of the rolling element during operation is reduced, resulting in less heat being generated.

The use of Ceramics for bearing components results in a far superior product over traditional all steel ball bearings.