Do you require plain Bushing Plastic for your application? Consider your options carefully before choosing plastic for your bushings (also known as bearings and sleeve bearings). Unlike ball bearings, plain bearings are straightforward-looking components with no moving elements. However, the performance of the bearing is significantly influenced by the material. Plastic bushings are the simple answer since they are readily available, affordable, and have several functional benefits. Plastic bushings have a low coefficient of friction, are self-lubricating, and require no maintenance.

However, quality, dependability, and performance are crucial while searching for the best bushings for heavy loads or high temperatures. By adding the simplest and quickest choice to your shopping basket, you will be wasting the work and effort that went into designing the mating components.

We’ll go through the top 5 reasons plastic bushings might not be the ideal choice for your application while offering a superior substitute.

Bushing Plastic Can Be Noisy

There has been a significant trend toward quieter engines in the car sector. Morning commutes that are silent and smooth are seen as badges of excellence. A low-noise engine has one drawback: the driver and passengers can hear every rattling, little tick, or click.

Therefore, there is now a push among vehicle engineers to find the quietest components. To have the proper clearance, a plastic sleeve bearing must either fit perfectly, failing which it may rattle and be heard within the cab.

Plastic bushings do not often have precise dimensional tolerance, which necessitates precision manufacture. Although we all value precision, it isn’t always the best option. When it comes to clearance, there is a chance that the metal shaft and the bushing may shift, which results in an unattractive rattling.

We will always choose PTFE bushings if you want a quiet operation, such as Petron’s. Contrary to tougher plastic, the softer PTFE offers noise-dampening qualities that significantly reduce sounds—even when there is clearance with a metal shaft. Based on laboratory tests at a 2 mm clearance and a 20 Hz stimulation frequency at a 40 m/s2 acceleration.

PTFE Bearings Have Superior Tolerance Compensation

The capacity to sustain constant torque is another benefit of using PTFE as a Bushing Plastic material. It produces a more flexible sleeve bearing that maintains consistency throughout the range of tolerances present in the mating components of our clients. Because of its improved tolerance, you won’t need to utilize expensive precision manufacturing.

Petron’s bushings operate consistently across a broad range of diameters compared to other bushings. While assuring smooth, consistent adjustments, the layer of a low-friction compound may account for the mating component’s tolerances.

Plastic Bushings Can Misalign

Misalignment may result from the placement tolerance of automobile components. The mechanics of automobile seats serve as an excellent example of this, where even something as basic as a plastic Bushing Plastic may have a real, unfavorable effect on the driving experience.

Stamping is used to create mounting holes on the seat frame. This approach is susceptible to changes in the locations of the holes. The torque will rise if the cross tube and the two sides of the seat are not exactly aligned. Using a plastic bushing by the automaker will push against one side of the shaft, increasing pressure and friction. The driver notices, we assure you.

At Petron Thermoplast, our experts evaluated several bushing materials and replicated this scenario. The torque with the plastic material increases significantly with more misalignment, but the bushing plastic compensates for misalignment to a far greater extent. Their MP content had the best results.

Plastic Bushings Have a Lower Load Capacity

Plastic materials are limited in heavy-load applications unless a metal supporting layer supports them. Once more, we’ll examine how this impacts the pivot points for seat height adjustment. Plastic is prone to cracking under severe loads, which can pressurize the mated components. This may lead to damage as well as an increase in friction.

A layer of metal serves as the support for the bushing plastic. Distributing the load safeguards both the bushing and its mate components.

Plastic Bushings Can Fail After E-Painting

Complete assemblies of Bushing Plastic and mate components are frequently painted together on assembly lines to produce new items at high rates. E-painting (electrophoretic deposition) at high temperatures is used to accomplish this. Effective? No, but efficient! The metal mating components may expand due to the high temperatures, and the bushing material may soften.

This causes the plastic to thin down permanently, resulting in higher clearance and reduced torque levels. The rattling mentioned in point 1 is the predicted outcome.

Choosing a bushing with a metal backing will address this issue. A steel backing offers larger load capacities while lowering the possibility of plastic deformation.

Don’t Compromise On Bushing Material

Don’t compromise on service life and higher performance when specifying or choosing components because of short-term gains.

In every application, PTFE bearings are far better than plastic ones. A fantastic all-around material for a variety of components, abrasion-resistant PTFE. It has strong chemical resistance, is an insulator with a high tolerance to heat, and is a solid lubricant that may be utilized in damp settings.

Petron Thermoplast engineering proficiency at the design stage assures your application’s best degree of performance. Build in high-quality bearings and complementary components from the beginning since cheap bushings might destroy all your hard work.

Our engineers will work directly with you to ensure every specification is solid and trustworthy, even down to the final piston ring. To discuss your customized Bushing Plastic, get in touch with us.

You can also see – Custom Plastic Injection Molding | Machined Parts