Bronze bushings for steel, sugar and heavy industry
Heavy industry orders bronze bushes in large diameters, one or a few at a time, from drawings that may be decades old, for machines whose downtime costs more per hour than the part. The bushes run hot, wet or shock-loaded. Machining Ø3 – 1000 mm on 25 CNC lathes and borers, with CMM inspection and a raw-material certificate, from centrifugally cast tube.
Large cast bronze bushes are machined from centrifugally cast tube, whose dense wall is what heavy bearings need; the alloy follows the duty – aluminium bronze for heat and water, C86300 for shock, C93200 and the high-lead grades for the soft, conforming bearing shells of mills – and the bush is finished to the old drawing or to the dimensions of the worn part, with the bore left for finishing in place if the housing will be re-bored.
- Steel mill: stand and roller-table bushes, shear pins, coiler mandrel bushes – aluminium bronze, C86300
- Sugar mill: roller bearing shells, top-cap bushes, gearbox bushes – C93200, SAE 64 / 67, aluminium bronze
- Forging and stamping presses: slide guide bushes and wear plates – C86300, CuSn12
- Cranes and port machinery: sheave and drum bushes, slew rings – C93200, C95400
- One piece or small series to Ø1000 mm, shrink fit and finish-in-place options, CMM report
Steel mills
| Position | Temperature | Load | Alloy | Lubrication |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill stand chock bushes and thrust rings | to 150 °C | very high, shock | C86300 · C95500 | grease, high-temperature EP |
| Roller-table roller bushes | 150 – 250 °C+ | medium | aluminium bronze | high-temperature grease; above 250 °C graphite-plugged |
| Shear and flying-shear pins | ambient | shock | C86300 | grease |
| Coiler / uncoiler mandrel and segment bushes | to 150 °C | high | C95400 · C86300 | grease |
| Continuous caster segment and oscillator bushes | hot, wet | high | C95500 | grease, sealed |
| Converter and ladle turret trunnion bushes | hot | very high, slow | C86300 · C95500 | grease, large diameter, shrink fit |
Sugar mills
The mill tandem (moenda, trapiche) runs its roller journals in bronze bearing shells and bushes – top-roll and side-roll bearings, top-cap bushes, hydraulic-cap guides – flooded with cane juice, washed with water, loaded to the limit and rebuilt in the off-season. C93200 / SAE 660 is the general grade; the high-lead SAE 64 (C93700) and SAE 67 (C93800) shells conform and tolerate poor lubrication and juice contamination; aluminium bronze for the gearbox and drive bushes. Brazilian buyers: "bronze grafitado" in the trade means SAE 660, and TM 23 is a high-lead alloy nearest SAE 67 – say which the drawing intends. Cane carrier, knife and shredder shaft bushes run in the same alloys.
Forging presses, cranes and heavy machinery
Press slide guide bushes, gib wear plates and eccentric bushes take shock in oil – C86300 for the heaviest, CuSn12 and aluminium bronze for guided sliding; flat wear plates are machined from the same cast stock. Crane sheave bushes, hoist drum bushes and slew rings in C93200 or C95400 run slowly under high load in the weather; port and mining machines add salt and dust. Half bearings and split rings are made where a one-piece bush cannot be fitted around a shaft.
Large diameter: stock, machining and inspection
Above Ø200 mm the stock is centrifugally cast tube in the alloy ordered; the bush is rough-turned and finished on lathes and borers to Ø1000 mm. Walls are 5 – 10 % of the bore; the outside to r6 for a shrink fit or to a slide fit with a keeper; the bore finished to drawing or left with stock for boring in place after the housing is aligned. Inspection by CMM with a dimensional report, plus the raw-material certificate. Large bushes are crated so that the wall carries no load in transit, and should be measured again before fitting.
For your enquiry:Large part? Send d / D / L, weight estimate and the drawing – quote in 12 hours.
High temperature
Grease-lubricated cast bronze bushes are used to 250 °C, with high-temperature grease and shorter intervals above 150 °C; aluminium bronze keeps its strength best when hot. Bronze expands 18 × 10⁻⁶ /K – 50 % more than steel – so a bush that is right at 20 °C loses clearance at 200 °C: at Ø200 the bore closes by about 0.2 mm relative to a steel shaft, which the design clearance must include. Above 250 °C, or where relubrication is impossible, a graphite-plugged bronze bush is the part.
Spare parts from old drawings
An old drawing is enough – we machine to it, translate the material designation (Rg7, LG2, B101, ГОСТ, JIS) to the alloy we machine and put both on the certificate, and confirm tolerances that the drawing leaves open. Where there is no drawing, the dimensions measured from the worn part and the housing are the basis; we machine to those measurements and do not reverse-engineer a design. One piece or a series; ASTM B505 / B271, EN 1982 or GB/T 1176 certificate as your quality system requires.
Alloy by duty
| Alloy | Choose for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C95400 · C95500 | heat, water, steam, high load | roller tables, casters, mill gearboxes |
| C86300 | the heaviest shock loads | stand bushes, shears, press guides, trunnions; hardened shaft |
| C93200 / SAE 660 | general heavy bearings, sheaves, sugar mill shells | soft, forgiving, cheapest |
| SAE 64 · SAE 67 | mill bearing shells with poor lubrication | high lead, conforms, tolerates contamination |
| CuSn12 | press guides, slow heavy sliding with oil | lead-free, wear resistant |
Parts we machine for this sector
Typical parts, one-off and small series:
- Mill stand and trunnion bushes to Ø1000 mm, C86300 and nickel aluminium bronze
- Roller-table and caster bushes, aluminium bronze, high-temperature grooves
- Sugar mill roller bearing shells and top-cap bushes, C93200 and SAE 64 / 67
- Press slide guide bushes and wear plates, C86300 / CuSn12
- Crane sheave, drum and slew bushes and thrust washers, C93200 / C95400
What to send for a quote
For large and old-drawing parts:
- Drawing (any age, any language) or the measured dimensions of the worn part and housing
- Quantity – one piece is fine
- Alloy or designation on the drawing; certificate standard required
- Temperature, medium and lubrication; fit intended (press, shrink, slide with keeper)
- Delivery needed by, and destination port
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest bushing you can make?
Ø1000 mm across the machining range, from centrifugally cast tube, one piece or a few, with CMM report. Larger or split parts on enquiry.
Which bronze for a rolling mill bearing?
C86300 manganese bronze for shock-loaded stand bushes and trunnions on hardened journals; aluminium bronze C95400 / C95500 for hot and wet positions such as roller tables and casters; C93200 for general slow bearings.
Bronze for sugar mill roller bearings?
C93200 / SAE 660 as the general shell alloy, SAE 64 or SAE 67 where poor lubrication and juice contamination call for a high-lead, conforming bronze, aluminium bronze for gearbox and drive bushes. Machined to the mill drawing.
Can you make one piece?
Yes – no minimum order. One large bush from an old drawing is a normal job; the quotation states the lead time for the size and alloy.
Lead time for a Ø600 bushing?
Depends on alloy stock and the machining content and is stated in the quotation; tell us the date you need it by and we plan the stock accordingly.
Old drawing is enough – we machine to it
Send the drawing or the measured dimensions, quantity and the date you need the part. Quote in 12 hours.