Straight sleeves
We machine cylindrical sleeves with a working bore and an outside locating diameter for shafts and pivot pins.
Custom plain bearings and bushings
Plain Bearings and Sliding Components
Flanged bushings
A flanged bushing combines radial guidance with an end face for axial location or sliding contact. We make the bore, flange and seating face to their separate drawing requirements.
Stepped sleeves
Steps in the outside profile locate a sleeve across different housing diameters or against a shoulder. The working bore remains related to those locating surfaces.
Split bearing halves
Separate bearing halves allow assembly around an existing shaft. We supply the defined half geometry and joint faces for the mating housing arrangement.
Thrust washers
Flat annular components provide an axial sliding face between a rotating shoulder and its support. Thickness and the working annulus determine where contact occurs.
Wear plates and strips
Replaceable flat wear faces guide a moving member while protecting its supporting structure. Recessed mounting features keep the fixings clear of the sliding path.
Grooved sliders
An open channel locates a mating rail or profile. We machine the sliding lands, side faces and attachment features as one component.
Guide blocks
Blocks with a bore combine shaft guidance and a mounting body. They suit assemblies whose attachment pattern cannot be accommodated by a simple sleeve.
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8 forms shown
Bronze and Engineering-Plastic Bearing Materials
C93200 bearing bronze
We machine solid bronze stock to the specified alloy and supplied condition. C93200 is a leaded tin bronze used for bearing components; the selected lubrication system remains part of the bearing design.
POM-C acetal
POM-C offers lower moisture uptake than unfilled PA6 and is useful where a polymer sliding component needs dimensional stability in changing humidity. The drawing still needs the exact grade: an unfilled acetal and a bearing-modified compound are different materials.
PA6 nylon
PA6 is used for wear blocks and bearing components, but absorbed moisture changes its dimensions and stiffness. We retain the specified stock grade and conditioning state so a dry-machined bore is not confused with the intended in-service condition.
Housing Fits, Running Clearance and Contact Faces
Retention fit and running clearance
The outside diameter retains a bushing in its housing; the bore provides clearance around the shaft. Pressing the bushing into place can change that bore. We distinguish the free-part dimensions from the installed requirement and use the mating shaft limits to define the intended clearance.
Flange and thrust contact
A flange can act as a stop or a working thrust face. The drawing identifies the contact annulus, flange thickness and corner clearance, so the shaft shoulder reaches the intended face without catching the root radius.
Guidance across several supports
Two individually correct bores can bind a shaft if their installed axes disagree. We need the assembly datums or the agreed final-machining arrangement when separate supports guide the same shaft.
Material Stiffness and Thermal Expansion
| Reference material | Property and condition | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| C93200 cast bronze | Tensile elastic modulus | ≈100 GPa |
| C93200 cast bronze | Linear expansion, 20–100 °C | 18 µm/(m·K) |
| Acetron GP / Ertacetal C POM-C | Tensile modulus, dry at 23 °C | 3.0 GPa |
| Acetron GP / Ertacetal C POM-C | Linear expansion, 23–60 °C | 110 µm/(m·K) |
| Nylatron MC901 PA6 | Tensile modulus, dry at 23 °C | 3.3 GPa |
| Nylatron MC901 PA6 | Linear expansion, 23–60 °C | 80 µm/(m·K) |
CDA alloy data and Mitsubishi Chemical Group stock-shape data; polymer modulus follows ISO 527. These values compare stiffness and thermal response, not allowable bearing pressure. We retain the drawing’s specified alloy or polymer grade and conditioning state.
Machining Bores, Sliding Lands and Lubrication Features
Turned bores and seating faces
We plan the bore, outside locating diameter and end-face operations around the specified relationships. Thin sleeves need support that holds the part without making clamping distortion part of the finished geometry.
Milled lands and recessed fixings
We mill the sliding face in relation to the back face and mounting features. Counterbores and countersinks are defined from the working surface so the selected fastener head remains below it.
Lubricant feeds and grooves
The feed hole must reach the intended groove and align with the housing supply. We machine the released groove width, depth and extent while preserving the bearing lands that carry contact.
Sliding Surfaces and Edge Details
Working-surface texture
We apply the specified surface-texture requirement to the sliding face and identify it separately from the nonworking exterior. A whole-part cosmetic finish does not define the bearing surface.
Groove and hole edges
Burrs at a lubricant opening can score the mating shaft. We remove raised edges while preserving the specified groove and the adjacent contact surface.
Mounting recesses and wear allowance
A fixing head below the new wear face can become exposed as the part wears. Recess depth and the permitted replacement point must leave that head clear of the moving member.
Treatment of contact lands
Plating or coating on a sliding face changes its size and surface behavior. We keep the specified contact lands separate from decorative or protective treatments applied elsewhere on the part.
Inspection of Bearing and Wear Components
Free-part and installed bore checks
We identify which bore limits apply before fitting and which require an agreed housing or test fixture. The inspection record states that condition, and an installed clearance is measured in the agreed housing or test fixture.
Contact lands and thickness
For washers and wear plates, we check thickness and the specified flatness over the working lands. Mounting recesses and lubricant grooves are excluded from the contact surface as the drawing defines.
Polymer measurement condition
The agreed inspection condition includes temperature and support for polymer parts. We use contact force appropriate to the feature: squeezing a flexible sleeve can change the diameter being measured.
First Fits, Replacements and Repeat Supply
Establish the nominal component
A worn part helps identify the envelope and installation, but its wear surface is not the original size. We use the approved part drawing and mating dimensions to establish replacement geometry.
Evaluate the first fit
A first component can check assembly and movement in the intended housing. Any resulting change to the bearing geometry is recorded in the released drawing before a repeat batch.
Identify sets and variants
We distinguish mating halves, handed plates and similar bore sizes through the agreed part identification. Marks belong on a defined area outside the sliding and locating surfaces.
Protect sliding and locating faces
We separate metal edges and polymer contact faces in packing. Protection for long strips prevents bending in transit, while sleeves are supported without forcing their bore out of shape.
Turning, milling and the mating component
A sleeve and a flat guide need different machining routes. Where the same order includes the mating shaft or support, we quote those components against their own drawings and shared interface requirements.
Information for a Plain-Bearing Quote
| Item | Include |
|---|---|
| Part geometry | Bore, outside profile, length and working faces |
| Mating interface | Shaft/housing limits and acceptance state |
| Service conditions | Motion, lubrication, temperature and moisture |
| Order scope | Grade, quantity, surface limits and records |
For a wear plate, include the mounting hardware and replacement limit where they determine the remaining working thickness.
Custom Plain Bearing FAQs
Can a solid bronze bushing replace an oil-impregnated sintered bushing?
It is not a like-for-like material change. An oil-impregnated sintered bushing stores lubricant within its porous structure; a bushing machined from solid bronze stock does not have that same lubrication mechanism. The replacement design must provide a suitable lubrication route and approved clearances before we machine it.
Can I make a split bearing by cutting a finished sleeve in half?
The cut removes material and changes the joint between the halves. Closing that joint in a housing can alter the bore. A split bearing therefore needs its own joint faces, closure condition and installed geometry defined; the dimensions of an unsplit sleeve are not a complete manufacturing drawing for the pair.
Can custom bronze or plastic bearings run dry?
Dry running depends on the specific material compound, contact pressure, motion, speed and mating surface. A dry-running rating comes from the specific material compound together with the contact pressure, motion, speed and mating surface. We machine the approved component; the bearing design needs to qualify its intended lubrication and duty, including any special self-lubricating material.
Should the mating shaft always have the lowest possible roughness?
No. The suitable shaft surface depends on the bearing material and sliding conditions. For some polymer bearing systems, an extremely smooth counterface can increase friction or stick-slip. Use the selected bearing material’s counterface guidance or a validated assembly specification, rather than adding a mirror-polish requirement by default.
Can the same bearing design be used for continuous rotation and oscillation?
A change to reversing or short-angle motion changes the loaded contact region and how lubricant reaches it. A geometry that fits both assemblies may still have a different wear pattern. Retain the defined motion and lubrication duty in the design review when reusing a bearing for a new mechanism.
Does a thrust washer also support the shaft radially?
A flat thrust washer carries contact on its end face; its center opening is not automatically a radial bearing. Radial guidance needs a suitably defined sleeve or other bearing surface. A flanged bushing can combine the two functions when both its bore and flange face are designed for them.
PROJECT SUPPORT
Discuss Your Bearing or Wear Component
Send the bearing drawing, mating dimensions and quantity. We will review the material, machining features and required delivery condition.
Technical references
Material and bearing-interface references.
- Copper Development Association — C93200 Alloy Profile — Cast-bronze modulus and thermal-expansion reference values.
- Mitsubishi Chemical Group — Acetron GP/Ertacetal C POM-C and Nylatron MC901 PA6 Product Datasheets — Dry-stock properties, stated temperature ranges and moisture response.
- Copper Development Association — Properties and Selection of Cast Bearing Bronzes — Bearing construction, motion and lubrication considerations.
- igus — Plastic Bushings: Tolerances; Wear Capabilities and Limits of Plain Bearings — Installed-bore measurement, mating dimensions and operating-clearance principles.
- SKF — Solid Bronze Bushings; igus — Four Considerations for Selecting a Shaft — Lubrication and counterface selection. Those ratings belong to the catalog components; your custom part is accepted against its own drawing.
