In response to the challenge of timely fault identification in the spindle bearings of machine tools operating in complex environments, this study proposes a method based on a combination of infrared imaging with an Informer and a CNN + Swin Transformer. The aim is to achieve real-time monitoring of bearing faults, precise fault localization, and classification of fault severity. To accomplish this, an angular contact ball bearing was chosen as the research subject. Initially, an infrared image dataset was constructed, encompassing various fault positions and degrees, by simulating different forms of bearing faults. Subsequently, an Informer-based bearing temperature prediction model was established to select faulty bearing data. Lastly, the faulty data were input into the CNN + Swin Transformer model for bearing fault recognition and classification. The results demonstrate that the Informer model accurately identifies abnormal temperature rises during bearing operation, effectively screening out faulty bearings. Under steady-state conditions, the model achieves a classification accuracy of 97.8%. Furthermore, after employing the Informer screening process, the proposed model exhibits a recognition precision of 98.9%, surpassing other models such as CNN, SVM, and Swin Transformer, which are mentioned in this paper.