Cage segment for a rolling-element bearing cage

A rolling-element bearing comprising:

• an inner ring,
• an outer ring, and
• a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring, and
• a multipart rolling-element bearing cage comprising a plurality of single-pocket cage segments, each of the cage segments comprising first and second side walls connected by first and second end walls, wherein the first and second side walls and the first and second end walls are formed by at least one sheet metal segment having at least two ends connected at at least one joint, and wherein the at least one cage segment includes at least one functional element, and
• wherein a first subset of the plurality of rolling elements are located in the plurality of cage segments and a second subset of the plurality of rolling elements are located between adjunct pairs of the plurality of cage segments.

A method comprising:

• laser cutting a plurality of planar strips of material from a metal sheet, each of the strips having a first end and a second end, an outer periphery including a plurality of tongues and a first section and a second section each having a first width and a third section between the first section and the second section having a second width less than the first width,
• bending at least one of the plurality of tongues out of the plane of each of the plurality of strips,
• bending the third section out of the plane of each of the plurality of strips relative to the first section and the second section, and
• connecting the first end of each of the plurality of strips to the respective second end of each of the plurality of strips to form a plurality of single-pocket cage segments of a multipart rolling-element bearing cage.