METAL POLYMER BEARINGS

ENGINEERED PLASTIC BEARINGS

FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE BEARINGS

METAL & BIMETAL BEARINGS - BRONZE BUSHINGS

BUSHING BLOCKS & THRUST PLATES

SELF-ALIGNING BEARING ASSEMBLIES

While all ball bearings reduce rotational friction, some high precision bearings are specially manufactured to withstand support loads, or bearing loads, in various directions. Two examples are axial loads, or thrust loads, and radial loads.

 

Axial bearings, or thrust bearings, are designed to withstand force in the same direction as the shaft. This is called an axial load, or thrust load. In some applications, ceramic bearings, a type of radial bearing, are used to withstand high rotational speeds. The rolling elements are ceramic, which is significantly lighter than steel. This reduces the centrifugal force within ceramic bearings at high speeds.

 

Radial ball bearings are designed to withstand forces that are perpendicular to the direction of the shaft, or radial loads. Some ball bearings are able to withstand a radial and axial load applied on the shaft, these combined axial/radial load bearings are achieved by axial angular contact. The angle of these axial radial bearings allows the axial load and the radial load to be distributed more evenly along the axial angular contact ball bearing.

Thrust washers, also referred to as thrust bearings or thrust plates, are flat, disk-shaped bearings that are made of either metal-polymer or fiber reinforced composite material.

 

This means that they share many of the same properties as our cylindrical plain bearings such as excellent wear resistance and low friction coefficients. Thrust washers are designed to support heavy axial loads and are used in applications where axial loads are expected.

Flange bearings consist of a cylindrical body with a flange at one end. These bearings are capable of supporting radial loads as well as light axial loads due to the flange providing a thrust surface.

 

In addition, the flange also assists with aligning and mounting the bearing during installation. Usually, this is done to lock the bearing in place with the flange which prevents the bearing from moving axially in the application. Flange bearings are often used in applications with a lot of vibrations, such as automobiles, where they ensure proper bearing positioning.

 

Flange bearings can be manufactured from:

*metal-polymer

*fiber reinforced composite

*thermoset plastic material.

 

Cylindrical bearings are extremely versatile and may be used for many applications. Common cylindrical bearing uses include:
 

*Agricultural Equipment

*Air Conditioning Compressors

*Pumps

*Engine Rocker Arms

*Gearboxes and Transmission Systems

*Kingpins

*Road Sweepers

*Steering Systems

*Throttle Butterfly Valves

*Wind Turbines

*Additional uses may include offshore FPSO systems, brake mechanisms, alternators and starter motors.

Plain cylindrical bearings are made to handle heavier loads and higher speeds than ball bearings and cylindrical roller bearings, both of which are bearings with rolling elements. This is because plain cylindrical bearings have more contact surface area than rolling element bearings, so loads are more evenly distributed across the surface. Cylindrical bearing applications may include applications with either radial or axial loads.

 

Cylindrical bearings have straight outside and inside diameters and are flush inside the housing. Due to their simple construction, cylindrical bearings are easy to install with a simple press fitting, reducing potential installation damage. They are slim, which saves space and weight, and cylindrical bearing sizes vary according to their use and client needs.

Plain bearings, also referred to as bushes, bushings or sleeve bearings, are cylindrical shaped and have no moving parts.

 

Plain bearings are used for sliding, rotating, oscillating or reciprocating motion. In sliding applications they serve as slide bearings, bearing strips and wear plates. In these applications the sliding surfaces are usually flat, but can also be cylindrical, and movement is always linear rather than rotating. Plain bearing construction may be solid or with a split joint (wrapped bearings) for easier installation.

 

Plain bearings are manufactured from a variety of materials, including metal-polymer, engineered plastics, fiber reinforced composite and metals that reduce noise, increase service life, eliminate lubricants and improve efficiency. The material a plain bearing is made of contributes to its mechanical and tribological properties.

Plain bearings, also referred to as bushings, sleeve bearings, solid bearings, shaft bearings, or journal bearings, are differentiated from roller bearings by the fact that plain bearings have no rolling elements.

 

Plain bearings reduce friction by using highly-specialized bearing materials, such as PTFE or graphite, to facilitate movement between two surfaces. Plain bearings can be either self-lubricating or externally lubricated.

 

High quality plain bearings are defined by the bearing material used, which includes metal-polymer, fiber reinforced composite, metal or bi-metal and engineered plastic. Plain bearings are commonly used in static oscillatory applications such as hinges, pivots and linkages. One special subtype of plain bearing is a spherical plain bearing, which can accommodate moderate misalignment.

 

BHR offers a variety of plain bearings that may replace roller bearings.
 

Plain bearings offer several advantages:

1. Higher load capacity, especially for shock load resistance and a greater contact zone

2. Compensation for misalignment and vibration damping with a conformal liner

3. Reduced noise due to the absence of moving parts

4. Space and weight savings

5. Straightforward and simple maintenance and installation

6. Low initial and overall cost

A bushing is one classification of the overall category of bearings.

 

A bushing is a thin tube or sleeve that allows relative motion by sliding (our type), as compared to rolling. A bushing might also be called a sleeve bearing. However, the term sleeve bushing would be redundant. Thus, a bushing is a bearing, but a bearing is not necessarily a bushing type.

 

A bearing is the general term for something that allows relative motion between two components, surfaces, etc.

Slide bearings facilitate precise linear motion and accommodate structural expansion.

 

The slide bearing assembly consists of structural pads, a PTFE sliding surface (or other low-friction material) and slide bearing plates. Subtypes of slide bearings include linear ball bearings and linear roller bearings. Slide bearings may also be referred to as linear bearings, guide bearings, or linear slide bearings.
 

They may be used in applications such as construction (expansion supports for bridges) and precision tooling.