Selecting the right bushing material for an application is important to ensure proper functioning, longevity, and reliability. The choice of material will depend on factors such as the type of load, the operating conditions, and the required level of wear resistance.

Here are some commonly used bushing materials and their properties:

Bronze: Bronze is a commonly used material for bushings because of its good wear resistance, high load capacity, and low friction. It is also resistant to corrosion and chemical attack, making it suitable for use in harsh environments. Bronze bushings are often used in applications such as heavy machinery, hydraulic cylinders, and pumps.

Brass: Brass is another material commonly used for bushings. It has good corrosion resistance, high conductivity, and low friction, but is not as wear-resistant as bronze. Brass bushings are often used in applications such as electric motors and appliances.

Plastic: Various types of plastic, such as nylon, acetal, and polyurethane, can also be used for bushings. Plastic bushings offer low friction, good wear resistance, and are lightweight. They are often used in applications where noise and vibration need to be minimized, such as in office equipment and vehicles.

Steel: Steel bushings are durable and have high load capacities, but can be prone to corrosion. They are often used in heavy machinery and construction equipment.

When selecting a bushing material, it is important to consider factors such as the load capacity, operating temperature, lubrication requirements, and expected service life. The material should be compatible with the mating parts to prevent wear and damage. Additionally, the cost and availability of the material should also be considered.

Bushings, also known as plain bearings, are mechanical components designed to provide a smooth and frictionless surface between two moving parts. These components play an important role in many industrial and engineering applications, as they are responsible for reducing friction and wear between rotating parts, as well as absorbing vibration and shock. Bushings are available in a wide range of materials, each with its own set of properties and applications.

The most commonly used bushing materials include:

Bronze: Bronze bushings are made of a mixture of copper and tin, and are known for their high strength, durability, and resistance to wear and corrosion. Bronze bushings are commonly used in heavy-duty applications, such as in industrial machinery and equipment.

Brass: Brass bushings are made of a mixture of copper and zinc, and are known for their high resistance to corrosion, good wear resistance, and low friction. Brass bushings are commonly used in applications where corrosion resistance is important, such as in marine environments.

Steel: Steel bushings are made of high-carbon steel, and are known for their high strength, durability, and resistance to wear and corrosion. Steel bushings are commonly used in applications where high load-bearing capacity is required, such as in heavy-duty machinery.

Plastic: Plastic bushings are made of various types of plastic materials, including nylon, polyethylene, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Plastic bushings are known for their low friction, lightweight, and resistance to wear. They are commonly used in applications where low friction and low weight are important, such as in automotive and consumer products.

Bushing Type: An Overview

Bushings are available in a wide range of types, each designed for specific applications and requirements. The most commonly used bushing types include:

Sleeve bushings: Sleeve bushings are cylindrical in shape, and are designed to provide a smooth surface between two rotating parts. They are commonly used in applications where low friction and low wear are important, such as in automotive and industrial machinery.

Flanged bushings: Flanged bushings have a flange on one end, and are designed to provide a secure connection between two parts. They are commonly used in applications where a secure connection is required, such as in construction and heavy-duty machinery.

Split bushings: Split bushings are designed to be split into two halves, making them easier to install and remove. They are commonly used in applications where ease of installation and maintenance is important, such as in industrial machinery and equipment.

Self-lubricating bushings: Self-lubricating bushings are designed to provide a lubricated surface without the need for external lubrication. They are commonly used in applications where external lubrication is difficult or impossible, such as in harsh environments or in applications with limited access.

Bushings vs. Bearings. What’s the difference and how to choose.

Bushings vs. Bearings, Bushings are a category under the general category of bearings. Bushings are thin tubes or sleeves that allow relative movement by sliding (our product type) as opposed to rolling. Bushings are also referred to as sleeve bearings. However, the term sleeve bearing seems redundant. Thus, a bushing is a bearing, but a bearing is not necessarily a bushing. A bearing is a friction component that allows relative motion of two parts or surfaces, etc.

Bearings or bushings are both used primarily to reduce wear and tear on moving parts. The main difference lies in the respective applications and where they fit. Choosing the right type of bushing or bearing for your industrial purpose to meet certain requirements requires a great deal of knowledge. You need to know the difference between bushings and bearings, the main types of bearings and bushings, their applications in industry and manufacturing, and much more.

All machines consist of moving parts, many of which require bearings and bushings to facilitate their movement without creating friction. They mainly help to reduce noise, increase service life, reduce power consumption and maximize machine efficiency and speed applications.

We will begin by learning the main differences between Bushings and Bearings.

Bushings vs. Bearings. Main Differences

Bushings and bearings are used to reduce friction, resulting in low tearing of high moving parts. Although one may be mistaken for the other, they are both suitable for their separate applications, environments and situations.

In the case of a bushing, it is a cylindrical component that supports the load of a sliding moving shaft running between two surfaces. On the other hand, a bearing supports a shaft in rotary motion while providing a form of position between them. Simply put, a bearing has two rings that operate with a metal ball between them to reduce friction and ensure smooth rotation of one surface relative to the other. A bushing is a bearing that slides on a shaft or rod, resulting in extremely low frictional movement.

What is a bushing?

A bushing – often referred to as a sleeve bearing – is a cylindrical element that supports a load on an operating shaft, sliding back and forth between moving surfaces. A bushing is a single element component that can be constructed of a variety of materials. The bushing slides over the rod or shaft, providing a motion with very low friction, good vibration damping, and reduced energy use, noise and wear.

What are the types of bushings?

There are many types of bushings on the market with different material compositions. Some are excellent at controlling high pressures and shocks, while others can withstand corrosion. You can choose the ideal type of bushing for your industrial or manufacturing application and operating environment.

Bushings can be classified based on two main factors; material and shape. There are three common types of bushings according to material, including composite bushings, metal bushings and plastic bushings. There are four other types of bushings based on shape, including cylindrical plain bushings, flanged bushings, thrust washers, and sliding plates.

Types of bushings by material

1. Polymer or composite bushings

Polymer bushings, also known as composite bushings, are better at carrying heavy loads. These are the most commonly used bushings because they have low friction and wear resistance. Polymer or composite bushings reduce the breakage of equipment due to improper lubrication of components.

In addition, polymer or composite bushings can be used to convey rotary motion when at least one of the two friction components in a machine or micro mechanism is composed of a polymer. Polymer or composite bushings can be used in environments where conventional bearings would be hazardous.

These bushings can be used in a range of industries including construction equipment, hydraulic systems, medical equipment, aerospace, etc.

Composite bushings are further divided into the two main types mentioned below.

POM composite bushings

POM bushings are primarily used to reduce vibration and noise in machinery. Since composite bushings are usually made of durable materials, this makes them ideal for reducing bearing wear.POM composites also help to reduce heat build-up caused by friction. This helps extend the life of bearings up to four times longer than other traditional materials, such as steel.

PTFE composite bushings

This is a type of bushing made using two different materials, including Teflon and metal. These types of bushings are used as bearings in a variety of industrial applications. Their core purpose is to reduce friction between moving parts in machinery.

2. Metal bushings

As the name implies, these bushings are made of metal or metal alloys and have a two to three layer structure with steel backing. These bushings have a very high mechanical strength, making them suitable for high speed and load applications involving lubrication. The metal used depends on the industrial environment or the type of application. These bushings are available in different lubrication methods, depending on their size, composition and application.

Metal bushings, including bronze bushings.

Manufactures slide bushings in various designs and from different materials. Therefore, We offers a wide assortment of bushings available from stock.

Rolling bearings utilize balls (ball bearings) or cylindrical rollers (roller or “needle” bearings). These elements are contained in the bearing ring or “collar” where they facilitate movement with little to no sliding resistance. Ball bearings are the most common type and can carry radial and axial loads.

However, rolling bearings can be affected by failure modes such as load damage, when the seat ring is deformed by the rolling element due to load, or if the ball is overloaded the ball will be deformed, due to repeated loading under static conditions and pseudo-hormonal damage caused by wear due to insufficient lubrication and oscillating motion. Cylindrical roller bearings are designed to carry heavier loads, and they have greater contact with the raceway, thus spreading the load over a larger area. However, they are not suitable for applications involving thrust loads.

There are differences between sliding and rolling bearings. Due to their complex multi-part design, precision construction and precise mounting, rolling bearings tend to be much more expensive than plain bearings. Rolling bearings are better suited for applications that require precise shaft positioning and/or very low friction. Slippery bearings have higher load capacity and are resistant to high shock loads and edge loads due to their larger contact area and adaptability. Sliding bearings compensate for misalignments better than some rolling bearings to reduce the effects of edge loads. The sliding bearing’s slim one-piece design reduces housing size, resulting in significant space savings and weight reduction. Sliding bearings have greater resistance to damage from oscillating motion, which extends bearing life. Sliding bearings operate at high speeds and low loads without wear damage due to slippage of the rolling elements and have excellent damping properties. There are no internal moving parts in a plain bearing, resulting in quieter operation and virtually unlimited speed ratings under properly lubricated systems compared to rolling bearings. Mounting the plain bearing directly into a simple housing virtually eliminates assembly damage compared to rolling bearings. Non-metallic plain bearings have higher corrosion resistance than standard rolling bearings. Plain bearings can run dry, eliminating lubrication, lubricants in maintenance and additional costs associated with equipment downtime. Plain bearings can operate dry at high temperatures and in the presence of contaminants.

General-purpose steel-based self-lubricating bearings without oil feed without oil lubrication or less oil lubrication, can be in use without or less maintenance. Good wear resistance, small friction coefficient, long service life. Has the right amount of elastic-plastic, can distribute the stress in the wider contact surface, improve the bearing capacity. The static and dynamic friction coefficient is close, so as to ensure the working accuracy of the machine. Can make the machinery reduce vibration, reduce noise, prevent pollution, improve working conditions. The transfer film can be formed during the operation to protect the grinding shaft. For grinding shaft hardness requirements are low, thus reducing the processing difficulty of related parts. Thin wall structure, lightweight, can reduce the mechanical volume. Steel back can electroplate a variety of metals, can be used in the corrosive medium; At present, it has been widely used in sliding parts of various machines.

• What do we customize for plain shaft bushing?
• Plain Bearing Bushing Sizes:We can customize the dimensions of our plain bearings.
• Plain Bearing Bushing Design: We have always focused on effective design of plain bearings, offering competitive pricing without compromising performance, quality and use.
• Plain Bearing Bushing Materials: We offer a wide range of friction self-lubricating materials, including metallic, bimetallic and non-metallic materials. Each material is available in different self-lubricating and requiring lubrication.

“This is a question that people often ask us: “How long will this material last?” In order to answer this fundamental question, in addition to providing written data, we decided to take a more practical approach — life calculation, which is backed by a huge amount of real data obtained from actual wear testing. To this end, we have built a professional test platform to allow a variety of materials to run for a long time in real conditions, such as any type of load, speed and different applications. At the same time, we also overlaid other more important parameters, including different bearing materials, material outer structure materials, environmental influences such as heat, extreme cold, dust, or chemicals. These can be highly close to the working condition data of bearings in practical application, so as to achieve the most realistic data.” Welcome to the Bushing Design Guide, Besides your will find the bushing bearings catalog. Can’t find the plain bearings size what you are looking for or have additional questions. Contact us today.

We offer customized plain bearings to meet your needs and applications. Our engineering team is happy to suggest and recommend the most suitable design, material, size, type, etc.

Wear resistance depends on a number of factors, of which the coefficient of friction is one, but the magnitude of the coefficient of friction itself depends on a number of different environmental factors. Most importantly, the physical properties of most plastic polymers are pretty much the same on the inside and the outside, so it’s hard to see any differences in key properties (such as density, thermal expansion, and flow resistance during injection molding) between composites with the same base material.

The use of additives, such as reinforced fiber, PTFE fabric, PEEK and so on, has a very small impact on the value in the physical property table, but it may greatly affect the wear and sliding performance of bearings. Even if the composition of the mixture is very small, it may also have a significant change on the service life of bearings.

In our material development projects, even a small portion of the pigment used to change the color of the material may determine the success or failure of bearing durability. Therefore, the physical property table has a certain role, but it is far from enough for us to evaluate the performance of bearings.

In terms of shape, there are four main types of bushings.

Cylindrical general bushings: As the name implies, cylindrical bushings have a cylindrical shape, are made to industry standard dimensions, and are ready-to-install machine parts. Cylindrical bushings have a backing on the inside and outside that supports the sliding layer in the middle. Cylindrical bushings are stronger than bearings and can withstand higher forces than metal bearings, making them ideal for one-way variable loads, rotary motion and axially guided bearings.

Flanged bushings: Flanged bushings are almost identical to cylindrical bushings with one distinct difference, they have a flange at one end. The flange can serve a variety of purposes, from bushing mounting or alignment to ease of installation. They are commonly used in through-bolt applications, allowing the use of smaller diameter bolts to reduce weight without causing a reduction in the fastener’s bearing surface against the Spar wall, as well as reducing the stress on the threads of the mounting bolt.

Thrust washers: Thrust washers are not bushings per se, but are a very important component. They are essentially flat washers located between the fixed part and the rolling surface, supporting the axial load or movement on the shaft and, from the side, limiting any movement along the shaft. They form a surface on which the bearing or bushing is supported.

Sliding Plates: Sliding plates are a common component used in tool and die making. They are low maintenance and are popular in industries such as automotive, mechanical engineering, lifting, welding technology, injection molding machines and conveying technology.

Sliding plates are considered to be linear bearings and may be extension joints for bridges or other mechanical components. The principle is quite similar to that of a bearing or bushing. One of the plates is stationary and the other slides on it to counteract expansion or contraction. Sliding plates can be made of a variety of materials, from steel to PTFE, as well as self-lubricating metallic materials.