`5's Ceramic Bearing Information

This page was created with information contained from several posts to various yo-yo webboards by Jim Pankey (`5). Thanks to Jimbo for going to the effort to compile the information and for giving me permission to post it here.

Ceramic bearings are just like steel bearings with the exception of the balls. The balls in a ceramic bearing are made from solid silicon nitride - which has nothing to do with household ceramics. Basically they're called ceramic because it's easier than explaining silicon nitride every time it comes up.

So what makes these silicon nitride balls "better"? Good question. Let's go one reason at a time.

Silicon Nitride balls...

are Harder than steel. This simply means they should last longer.
run Cooler than steel balls. Not cool like "The Fonz" but the silicon nitride doesn't heat up like steel. They run "cooler" for folks like Rick Wyatt where heat might be a real problem.
are Impervious to oxidation. Which means they don't have to be lubed. They are "tribochemically inert."
are Lighter that steel. 60% lighter - this means there's going to be less force against the outer race when the bearing is spinning causing the rolling resistance (friction) to be less. This should improve speed and spin time.
have a Smoother surface finish than steel balls. This also means there is less friction between the balls and the races. Less friction means? You bet it does.
have Lower Vibration Levels than their steel cousins. Could this equate to a smoother spin? Likely.
benefit from Reduced Ball Skidding. That's when the ball slides in the race instead of rolling. A ball that rolls along the race will move quicker and smoother than one sliding. Skidding is something you can often hear as a "chirping" noise coming from the bearing.

So is there a benefit? In many applications yes. For many players yes. Will putting a ceramic bearing in my CFGT increase my sleep times? Who knows. From my own experience I'm really not able to observe much of a difference in performance for "normal" yo-yo play. Maybe if I was out breaking sleeper records I would be able to determine a difference, but I'm not.

Any questions?

Jim Pankey

Disclaimer - the above statements could be entirely bunk. I've tried to use valid, unbiased resources for the information - but I could be spewing advertising hype and be unaware of it.

Information Compiled By Jim Pankey (`5)