Custom plain bearings
The demand for custom non-standard plain bearings is increasing. We can manufacture copper alloy materials to meet China’s national standards as well as the ASTM (UNS, SAE), EU, and JIS standards.
Bespoke plain bearings
viiplus collaborates with customers to find tailored solutions, offering plain bearings in various materials, sizes, tolerances, and designs.
Timely Delivery
Committed to meeting tight deadlines without compromising on quality, we ensure reliable and efficient production timelines.
Versatility
Capable of handling both small-scale and high-volume orders, we provide seamless support for projects of any size. Additionally, we can develop custom copper alloy materials based on specific customer requirements and drawings.
Specialized in Custom Bronze Bushings
VIIPLUS is a bronze bushing manufacturer producing bronze sleeve bearings in CuSn8, CuSn7Zn4Pb7, and aluminum bronze (CuAl) — both cast and wrapped. With oil grooves, full DIN/ISO/GB size standards, and custom alloys on request, we cover construction, hydraulics, marine, and heavy-duty rotating equipment.
Bronze remains the default bearing material because it is strong, embeddable, and kind to shafts. Below is the complete guide to specifying a cast bronze bushing versus a wrapped bronze bearing, choosing the alloy, and laying out lubrication — with a selection guide at the end.
Custom Machined Bronze Parts & Bearings
What Are Bronze Bushings?
A bronze bushing is a cylindrical sleeve (sometimes flanged) that carries a rotating or sliding shaft on a film of oil or grease. Two production routes dominate: cast bronze (poured or centrifugally cast, then machined) and wrapped/rolled bronze (a strip formed and calibrated to tight tolerances). Both end as precision bronze sleeve bearings, but they suit different volumes and wall thicknesses.
Bronze earns its place as the default bearing metal because of a rare combination: it is strong enough to carry real load, soft enough to embed grit without scoring the shaft, and corrosion-resistant enough for marine and outdoor service. We supply it as plain sleeves, flanged bushings, thrust washers, and plates, and machine special shapes to drawing. For designers, a bronze bushing manufacturer like VIIPLUS is therefore a single source for most rotating and sliding joints in a machine.
Beyond the sleeve, the same bronze alloys appear as flanged bushings that also locate a shaft axially, as thrust washers that take pure axial load, and as wear plates that protect a more expensive mating surface. Standardizing on one material family across these forms simplifies purchasing, inventory, and quality control — a single alloy certificate can cover a whole machine’s bearing set. It is also why specifying bronze early, before each joint is designed in isolation, tends to produce a cheaper and more consistent bill of materials.
Oilless Bushing Material, Machining Parts
Bronze Bushing Materials & Alloys
| Alloy | Type | Strengths | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| CuSn8 (CuSn8P) | Tin bronze, wrapped | Hard, wear-resistant, diamond oil pockets | Wrapped bushes, contaminated env. |
| CuSn7Zn4Pb7 | Leaded tin bronze, cast | Good machinability, embeddability | General cast sleeves & plates |
| C83600 / SAE 660 | Leaded red brass, cast | Anti-friction, widely specified | Pumps, valves, general bearings |
| CuAl (aluminum bronze) | Cast/continuous | Corrosion & heat resistant | Marine, high-temperature |
Cast vs Wrapped (Rolled) Bronze Bushings
| Aspect | Cast | Wrapped (Rolled) |
|---|---|---|
| Best volume | Low–medium, non-standard | High volume, standard |
| Wall thickness | Thick, near-net shape | Thin, consistent |
| Tolerance | Machined to fit | Calibrated, repeatable |
| Cost profile | Higher per piece small qty | Lower per piece at scale |
| Aspect | Cast | Wrapped (Rolled) |
|---|---|---|
| Best volume | Low–medium, non-standard | High volume, standard |
| Wall thickness | Thick, near-net shape | Thin, consistent |
| Tolerance | Machined to fit | Calibrated, repeatable |
| Cost profile | Higher per piece small qty | Lower per piece at scale |
A cusn8 bronze bushing (wrapped) is the workhorse for high-volume, thin-wall applications; a cast bronze vs brass bushing decision usually comes down to load and corrosion — bronze wins on both.
Cast parts are produced by continuous, centrifugal, or sand casting depending on size and quantity, then machined to the finished bore — ideal for low volumes, large diameters, and non-standard alloys where tooling a strip would be uneconomic. Wrapped bushings start from a calibrated bronze strip that is rolled and sized in one operation, giving excellent consistency at scale and a naturally oil-retentive diamond surface. The crossover is roughly where annual volume and wall thickness make strip tooling pay back; we will state the cheaper route for your quantity rather than default to one method.
Bronze vs Brass vs Copper
These are often confused. Copper alone is too soft for bearings. Brass (copper–zinc, e.g., CuZn25Al5Mn4Fe3) is harder and cheaper but less wear-resistant than bronze. Bronze (copper–tin or copper–aluminum) offers the best combination of strength, embeddability, and fatigue life for bearing duty. We also offer high-tensile brass for heavy, slow applications. (See the dedicated guide for deep comparison.)
A simple rule of thumb: choose bronze when the joint is loaded, corrosive, or must last; choose brass only when cost and moderate duty dominate and a slightly shorter life is acceptable; avoid plain copper except as an electrical or thermal component. For the great majority of bearing applications, a tin or aluminum bronze is the safe default, which is why our catalog leads with CuSn8 and CuAl grades.
Size & Tolerance Standards
We supply to DIN, ISO, and GB metric series as well as common inch sizes, with flanged and thrust variants. Typical fit is H7 bore with an h8/h9 shaft, adjusted to duty and housing. Special dimensions, integral flanges, and combined features are machined to drawing.
| Fit element | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bushing bore | H7 | Finished after casting/machining |
| Shaft | h8 / h9 | Hardened >45 HRC for wear life |
| Wall thickness | Per series | Wrapped thinner than cast |
| Outside dia. | s7 / press fit | Housing bore machined to suit |
Housing rigidity matters as much as the bushing: a soft or oversized housing lets the bronze yield and the fit loosen. We advise on the housing bore tolerance so the installed clearance lands where the design intends.
Lubrication & Oil Grooves
Oil grooves store and spread lubricant to the contact zone. Patterns include axial grooves (through-flow), circumferential grooves (ring distribution), and diamond/point pockets (for wrapped CuSn8). In contaminated or hard-to-reach sites, grooves keep a reserve that releases during operation. For oilless duty we switch to graphite plugs (see JDB) or a PTFE lining.
Groove placement follows the motion: for a rotating shaft, a circumferential groove near the middle feeds the whole arc; for oscillation, axial grooves at the ends replenish the contact band. Avoid terminating a groove at a load-bearing edge where it would act as a stress riser in a thin wall. We lay out grooves from your lubrication standard or duty cycle, and can combine oil grooves with graphite plugs where a part must survive both lubricated and dry intervals.
type of Custom Bearings & Bushings, Flanged Bearings, Custom Oilless Bronze Bushings, Custom Sliding Bearing
Custom Bearings & Bushings Materials & Alloys We Machine
Applications
- Construction & earthmoving — pivot and linkage bushings under shock load.
- Hydraulics & valves — cylinder and spool bearings.
- Marine — propeller shafts, rudders (corrosion-resistant CuAl).
- Heavy industry — presses, conveyors, crushers.
In nearly all of these the bronze bushing is the sacrificial, replaceable element that protects an expensive shaft or housing. Specifying the right alloy and groove pattern keeps replacement intervals long and predictable — which is the real economic argument for bronze over a cheaper, shorter-lived alternative.
Read together, alloy choice, production route, fit, and lubrication form one decision chain: pick the alloy for the environment, the route for the volume, the fit for the housing, and the groove for the lube. Getting all four right is what turns a bronze bushing from a wear item into a long-life, set-and-forget component — and it is the difference between a cheap part and a cheap overall solution.
Material Selection
Bronze Alloy Composition
Casting
Centrifugal casting, continuous casting
Machining
Precision Machining
Quality Inspection
Material Testing, Surface Inspection
VIIPLUS Industries Served, Selection Guide
- Define load, speed, temperature, and environment.
- Pick alloy: CuSn8/CuSn7Zn4Pb7 for general; CuAl for corrosion/heat.
- Choose cast (non-standard/low volume) or wrapped (high volume/thin wall).
- Specify groove pattern or oilless variant.
- Confirm size standard or send a drawing for custom.
A useful shortcut: if you can name the dominant duty — load, speed, or environment — the alloy often chooses itself. Heavy load with grease access points to leaded tin bronze; corrosion or heat points to aluminum bronze; high volume with thin walls points to wrapped CuSn8. When two duties conflict (e.g., hot and heavily loaded), we weigh them against the rating tables and recommend the grade with the largest margin, rather than the one that is merely adequate.
