The contact angle is shown for an angular contact bearing with nominal contact angle of 20°. In the load zone the contact angles of inner and outer race are almost equal, but there is a big difference opposite to the load zone because of the centrifugal load.
The extension of the contact ellipsis is shown with the dotted lines, so we have a wide contact ellipsis at 0° and a smaller one at 180°. The contact angle corresponding to the shoulder is shown as dashed straight line at the top, so the shoulder is high enough in this case.
Using graphic options the ordinate can be changed from angle to axial position.
