In a sense, thrust bearings are 90° angular-contact bearings. They support pure thrust loads at moderate speeds, but for practical purposes, their radial load capacity is nil.

There, a single thrust bearing could take out any axial play and lead to an overall rigid build. We love simple machine-design nuggets of wisdom like these.

One-directional thrust bearings can support heavy thrust loads in one direction, combined with moderate radial loads. High shoulders on the inner and outer rings provide steep contact angles for ...

Many conventional journal- bearing turbos use a 270-degree thrust-bearing washer (at left), while the new breed of conventional and ball-bearing turbos employ 360-degree thrust bearings.