Plain bearing bushings & flanged bushings

While rolling bearings (ball bearings, roller bearings) work with rolling elements that enable movement, plain bearing bushings are based on direct sliding contact between two surfaces. Due to rolling friction, rolling bearings have a lower coefficient of friction than plain bearings.

However, the design also results in specific advantages for plain bearing bushings: They are lighter, quieter and less sensitive to dirt, dust, shocks and moisture. Sliding sleeves require less installation space and are generally much more cost-effective.

Plain bearing bushings are used wherever rotating, swivelling or linear moving connections have to be supported, whether in agricultural engineering, vehicle construction, the food industry or medical technology.

Plastic plain bearing bushings offer considerable advantages over metal bearing bushings, particularly where freedom from lubrication, corrosion resistance or light weight are required.

The sleeve bearing is the most widely used design. It consists of a simple hollow cylinder that is pressed into a housing hole.

This type is suitable for applications with a purely radial load, where the locating spigot, if necessary, is provided by other design elements (e.g. circlips, shaft shoulders). A locating spigot is only necessary at high application temperatures or if strong lateral forces act on the plain bearing.

Flanged bearings have a collar, also known as a flange, at one end of the cylinder. This collar fulfils two functions: It secures the bearing axially in the housing hole and at the same time absorbs axial loads. This eliminates the need for a separate thrust washer, which reduces the number of individual parts in the assembly and simplifies installation.

Bushings with a collar are particularly suitable where axial loads occur in addition to radial loads – for example in joints, lever mechanisms or swivelling applications. Typical application examples range from adjustment mechanisms in the furniture industry to highly stressed bearing points in harvesting machines.