A self-lubricating bearing is a machine element which goes by many names, including sleeve bearings, bushings, journal bearings, sliding bearings, friction bearings, etc. They were in use long before practical ball and roller bearings were developed. Slide bearings, as they relate to civil engineering, are not discussed here.
Awwa Technologies is a leading supplier of self-lubricated bearings in India. We have also been a leading manufacturer and exporter of self-lubricating bushings for over two decades.
Applications of self-lubricated bearing
All About Slide Bearings
Selection and sizing
Best Manufacturer of Self-lubricated Bearings
Applications of self-lubricated bearing
Automotive and mechanical equipment – starter motors, radiators, fans, fuel pumps, brakes, steering transmissions, shock absorbers, wipers, and similar.
Electric motors and gearboxes
Household appliances include ceiling fans, washing machines, juicers, air conditioners, coffee makers, vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, and similar items.
Industrial machinery – in carpentry machinery, assembly
Carpentry machinery, assembly line equipment, automation equipment, sewing machines, farm equipment, bottling equipment, and much more are examples of industrial equipment.
Items for home comfort and convenience, such as garage doors, automated awnings and shutters, sliding windows, and the like.
All About Slide Bearings
Slide bearings, also referred to as sliding or plain, bearings encompass a range of mechanical components that go by various names but are generally grouped as fluid-film bearings, whose purpose is to reduce friction between rotating, reciprocating, or sliding surfaces such as shafts and stationary surfaces such as housings. The lubricating film is generally oil, although water is sometimes used in special situations, and “dry running” bearings attain their slipperiness by way of PTFE or other low-friction materials. Slide bearings differ from ball and roller bearings which use rolling elements to reduce friction but, in both instances, the goal is the same. Sliding bearings may be grouped in any number of ways; for the purpose of this article, they are discussed in terms of material.
Bronze and babbitt bearings
Carbon insert bearings
Polymer bearings
Selection and sizing
Three basic influences govern fluid-film bearings: viscosity, rotating speed, and bearing unit load. Hydrodynamic lubrication itself depends on three fundamental assumptions: that there is relative motion between shaft and bearing; that a wedging action is produced as the shaft moves eccentrically up the bearing wall; and, that a suitable fluid is present in the bearing. While the steps needed to properly engineer traditional oil-film slide bearings are beyond the scope of this article, there are several important requirements for successfully deploying them.
The bearing needs to achieve thick film lubrication.
An adequate lubricant must be available.
Temperature ranges need to be maintained.
Oil needs to flow completely through the bearing.
Shaft deflection should be considered.
Starts and stops need to be at low bearing pressures, or thin-film lubrication should be considered.
The sizing of self-lubricating bearings is a somewhat different undertaking, but consideration of bearing loads, running speeds, operating temperatures, etc. are of similar importance. Manufacturers will provide design assistance in the selection of their products. Sintered and self-lubricating bearings are available in standard lengths, IDs, and ODs to meet just about any requirement, and custom products are often available. Bearings of this kind are usually pressed into housing bores, and the ID will often decrease once the bearing is installed.
Best Supplier & manufacturer of Self-lubricated Bearings
AWWA technologies is a market leader in self-lubricated bearings for the valve industry, automotive industry, plastic machinery, construction and agriculture machinery, hydraulic machinery, and general industrial machinery.
The core competencies of AWWA technologies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development.