Spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are a type of plain bearing that are designed to operate with minimal friction and wear. They consist of a bronze or brass shell with a spherical inner surface lined with a graphite layer. The graphite provides a self-lubricating surface that reduces friction and wears, while the bronze or brass shell provides a sturdy and durable support structure.

Spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are commonly used in applications requiring smooth, low-friction movement, such as in machinery and equipment. They are also used in applications where there is a need for high load capacities and resistance to wear, such as in heavy machinery or industrial equipment.

Some of the benefits of using spherical bronze graphite plain bearings include:

Low friction: The self-lubricating graphite layer reduces friction and wear, resulting in smooth, efficient operation.

High load capacity: The bronze or brass shell provides a strong support structure that can withstand heavy loads.

Long life: The graphite layer can last for a long time, resulting in a longer lifespan for the bearing.

Versatile: Spherical bronze graphite plain bearings can be used in a wide variety of applications, making them a versatile and reliable choice for many industries.

Bronzelube is a well-known manufacturer of bearings and other industrial products, and they offer a range of spherical bronze graphite plain bearings as part of their product line. Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are designed to offer high performance, reliability, and long service life in a variety of applications.

Some of the key features and benefits of Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings include:

Low friction: The graphite layer provides a self-lubricating surface that reduces friction and wear, resulting in smooth, efficient operation.

High load capacity: The bronze shell provides a strong support structure that can withstand heavy loads and shock loads.

Resistance to corrosion and contamination: Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are designed to resist corrosion and contamination, making them ideal for use in harsh environments.

Easy to install: Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are designed for easy installation, with a range of mounting options available.

Long service life: The combination of high-quality materials and advanced manufacturing techniques ensures a long service life for Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings.

Overall, Bronzelube’s spherical bronze graphite plain bearings are a reliable and high-performance solution for a wide range of applications, offering a combination of low friction, high load capacity, and resistance to corrosion and contamination.

Spherical plain bearings consist of an outer ring and an inner ring. This design enables the spherical plain bearing to be adjusted adaptively in spherical and i.e. angular movements. Spherical plain bearings are available with a combination of different sliding contact surfaces, with the inner and outer rings of the sliding surface consisting of different materials. We offer a comprehensive range of spherical plain bearings, including axial plain bearings, radial plain bearings, and angular contact plain bearings, in both inch and metric systems.

Radial Spherical Bearings

A spherical joint bearing, or bushing as it is called, is a metal-to-metal contact bearing consisting of a ground spherical inner ring and a mating outer ring without any rolling elements. These bearings are brass metal solid graphite plugged and can be customized to meet customer needs, including the use of special self-lubricating materials or construction to suit specific applications.

Size range: bore 12.7 mm – 600 mm (0.500 in. to 23.622 in.)

Radial Spherical Bearings Design Features

Made of hardened steel for reliable and consistent performance.

Self-lubricating graphite-bronze design reduces friction on contact surfaces.

The design of the bearing housing and shaft has been simplified to reduce installation time.

What are the advantages of joint bearing technology?

• 100% lubrication-free and maintenance-free
• Extremely cost-effective
• No lubrication required, resistant to dust and dirt
• Non-corrosive, can be used in liquid media
• Vibration damping
• Self-lubricating Spherical bearings jointed brass sleeve fixed in the bearing housing with minimal clearance
• High-temperature resistance, depending on the material selected
• Smaller order sizes or quantities
• Predictable service life

Spherical bearings Operating temperature

The permissible operating temperature of the Spherical bearings joint bearing is mainly determined by the material paired between the sliding surfaces of the bearing, especially the plastic material sliding surface of the self-lubricating type Spherical bearings joint bearing, whose load carrying capacity will tend to decrease at high temperature. If the sliding surface of lubricated spherical plain bearings is paired with steel/steel, the allowable working temperature depends on the allowable working temperature of the lubricant. However, for all lubricated and self-lubricating spherical plain bearings, they can be used in the temperature range of -30℃ to +80℃ and maintain the correct bearing capacity.

Oil-free spherical plain bearings can be used without lubrication. However, if lithium soap-based grease is added prior to operation, the service life of the spherical plain bearing can be extended even further. If the space around the bearing is filled with grease, the spherical bearing will be more effective in protecting against dust and foreign objects.

Spherical bearings Tilting angle: The tilting angle of spherical plain bearings is much larger than that of general adjustable rolling bearings, which is suitable for use in supporting parts with low concentricity requirements. °.

Spherical bearings Fit: In any case, spherical joint bearings selected to fit shall not make the collar uneven deformation, the nature of its fit and grade selection must be based on bearing type, support form, and load size, and other working conditions to decide.

Loading and unloading Joint bearing

Spherical bearings Joint bearing: The loading and unloading of Spherical bearings joint bearings should follow the following principles, namely, the force exerted by assembly and disassembly cannot be transmitted directly through the spherical sliding surface. In addition, auxiliary loading and unloading tools should be used, such as sleeves, dismantlers, etc., the external loading and unloading force applied directly and uniformly on the mating collar, or heating and other auxiliary methods for loading and unloading without load.

Spherical bearings Mounting: When assembling the spherical plain bearing series, it is necessary to pay special attention to the position of the outer ring split surface. In order to avoid the load directly on the split surface, it is necessary to maintain the split surface at a right angle to the direction of compliance.

Lubrication Spherical bearings

When the applied load and the speed generated by the oscillating motion are very small, oil-fed spherical bearings can be operated without lubrication. Nevertheless, it is generally necessary to replenish the grease periodically. For initial installation and operation, it is recommended that the lubrication interval be shortened moderately.

A spherical plain bearing has two “fitted” spherical contact surfaces, which are called coordinated contacts. The method of calculating the mechanical properties of spherical plain bearings plays an important role in the structural design and wear analysis of spherical plain bearings. The calculation of the coordinated surface contact pressure is a very complex problem, and the existing Hertz model cannot be used to calculate the spherical coordinated contact pressure distribution because it is limited to an elastic half-space body. There is already a unified model of spherical contact, namely Fang model, which can better solve the problem of small deformation spherical contact pressure distribution, and this model is applicable to both uncoordinated and coordinated contact. However, the contact area of the spherical bearing is not a complete sphere, and the calculation of its contact pressure distribution needs to be further calculated on the basis of the complete spherical coordinated contact model. In addition, the free boundary effect will also occur during the use of the spherical bearing, which will have some influence on the application of the spherical bearing. The free boundary effect produces contact pressure concentrations and large pressure gradients at the edge of the outer ring of the spherical bearing.