Services

SPECIAL DESIGN MANUFACTURING SERVICES

• Most complete fabricating services in the business.
• Short run/quick delivery projects, even one of a kind specials and prototypes.
• Flexible input-blueprints, samples, FAX drawings or telephone descriptions.
• CAD/CAM system for fast, accurate design and manufacturing.
• In-house grinding, honing, threading, grooving and graphiting capabilities.
• CNC milling machines and lathes for precision and consistency.
• All shapes and sizes-round, square, angular, irregular.
• Maintenance and repair items such as sleeves, flanges, plates and gibs engineered from samples.
• Tolerances within +.00025" for diameters, flatness, parallelism and concentricity. 

OIL GROOVING, GRAPHITING AND MODIFYING OF 
ASB STANDARD STOCK BEARINGS

Oil Grooving Standard Sleeve Bearings

American Sleeve Bearing offers all the standard oil grooving configurations listed in this section.  Most orders can be delivered within 48 hours and no order is ever held longer than one week from receipt of it.

Proper lubrication is a key factor in the successful operation of any sleeve bearing.  To insure that lubrication, most sleeves are designed with some type of oil grooving cut into the bore.

Standard industry oil grooving designs will be supplied to a depth and width proportional to the wall thickness and size of the bearing.  All grooves will be manufactured to a V-shaped design, which allows a fuller flow across the bearing surface, and will run 1/8" from each end of the bearing.  Modifications in basic groove design, (i.e., width, depth, shape, breaking out one or both ends, etc.); can be accommodated to specific customer needs without increased expense or delays.  Groove combinations or specially designed configurations are also possible.

Grooving and Graphited Bearings

American Sleeve Bearing Offers complete grooving and graphiting services.  We are fully equipped to produce any of the standard industry configurations illustrated in this section.

These configurations are adaptable to virtually any part, be it a standard bronze sleeve or a custom designed blueprint special.  Various other types of graphite designs, such as graphited thrust washers, flange faces, and wear plate surfaces are also possible.

All American Sleeve Bearing Graphited products are manufactured to the highest quality standards.   Deliveries are, of course, as you require and the cost is surprisingly reasonable.

Uses

Graphited bearings are not designed to replace bronze sleeves lubricated by oil films but there are many definite applications in which they can deliver superior service if designed properly.  They have been used in designs where part location makes normal lubrication procedures difficult (or neglect likely); where shaft speed is too slow to sustain a proper film, (generally below 30 surface feet per minute); where lubricant escape is unsuitable or detrimental to operations; where high operating temperatures could burn out oil or greases, or where bearings must operate in a sealed condition.  Graphited bearings have also been used in many underwater applications.

Production

American Sleeve Bearing produces graphited bearings by cutting any of the desired groove configurations into the bearing surface and then pressing a soft graphite mixture into the grooves (it is important to note that while some suppliers use “V” or “U” shaped grooves in their graphited bearings, American Sleeve uses only square bottomed grooves.  We believe that this process adds an extra degree of strength and permanence to the graphiting process.  The bearings are then baked to cure and harden the graphite.

Plug graphiting (#8 style) is accomplished by drilling a rowed, staggered hole configuration through the bearing wall and pressing graphite into these holes and hard baking.  The size and number of drilled holes and the number of rows is determined by the bearing length and diameter.

The #8 style has a variety of applications. Many designs specifying #8 graphiting require the bearing to float in the mounting, turning in both the housing and on the shaft.  Other designs have required successful operation in heat applications as high as 500 degrees F.

Application

Graphited bearings should be soaked in lubricant prior to application.  The graphite absorbs the lubricant, which is then transferred to the shaft when heated by the shaft motion.  This action provides oil needed to lubricate but not in sufficient quantity to cause leakage at the bearing ends.  The oil is re-absorbed by the graphite when motion ceases.

Graphited grooves may also be used in combination with systems containing lubricant reservoirs.  In such applications, the graphite serves to wick and meter the oil to the bearing areas.  This process can provide much needed extra protection in application where there are periods of boundary lubrication.

Whenever possible, periodic re-soaking of graphited bearings will, of course, aid in maximizing operating efficiently and prolonging bearing life.

The grooving and graphiting services of American Sleeve Bearing are further examples of our continued dedication to becoming the major source for all of your sleeve bearing needs.

Groove Chart