Custom Machined Bushings & Sleeves

Simple Shape, Two Critical Fits

A bushing or sleeve looks trivial — a tube with an outer and inner diameter — but it does two precise jobs at once: it press-fits into a housing on its outside, and provides a running fit for a shaft on its inside. Those two diameters carry tight, opposite tolerances (interference outside, clearance inside). That's exactly what turning controls well, and it's why a worn bushing is one of the most reproducible parts we make. A worked example of the two fits fighting each other — where pressing the bushing in closed its bore by 0,025 mm — is in the case study pilot bushing 32,025 × 17 × 20.

Custom Bushing Specifications

Attribute	Capability
Materials	SAE 660 & aluminium bronze, brass, steel, stainless, Delrin/PTFE/nylon
Outer diameter (press fit)	Interference class, e.g. r6 / s6 to the housing
Bore (running fit)	Clearance class, e.g. H7 / F7 over the shaft
Tolerance	±0.01–0.02 mm on both diameters
Features	Flange, oil grooves, lube cross-holes, chamfers, split
Size range	~Ø4–200 mm (larger on request)

Two variants have enough of their own detail to sit on separate pages: bushes whose bore is square, hexagonal, keyed or splined rather than round, and bushes that are bored complete and then split into segments so they can be fitted round a shaft that cannot be withdrawn.

Bushing Types We Machine

• Plain sleeve bushings — straight OD and bore
• Flanged bushings — with a shoulder to locate axially
• Oil-grooved / lubricated — internal grooves and cross-holes
• Bearing sleeves — bronze for sliding-contact bearings
• Thrust washers & split bushings — axial bearing & clamp-on types
• Wear sleeves & spacers — protective sleeves on shafts

Standard sleeve and flanged sizes, with their E6 bore and s6 outside-diameter limits, are tabulated in our ISO 4379 / DIN 1850 bushing size chart — check there first; if your bush has a row, a stockist is cheaper.

Sleeve and bushing names — and what each one needs

The same turned sleeve is ordered under a dozen names; the name tells us which surface carries the fit.

Bushing Materials — Including Self-Lubricating

Material is the biggest decision on a bushing, and the right one depends on load, speed and whether the part can be oiled. Self-lubricating ("oilless") bushings run without external grease — ideal where maintenance is hard or oil isn't allowed. Our full menu:

Material	Type	Best for
SAE 660 (C93200) bronze	Cast bearing bronze	General sliding bearings — strong all-rounder
Oil-impregnated bronze	Self-lubricating (sintered)	Low-maintenance, dry-start, light–medium load
Graphite-plugged bronze	Self-lubricating (solid)	High temp, oscillating, no-oil / dirty environments
Aluminium bronze (C954)	High-strength bronze	Heavy load, shock, marine
Brass (C360)	Free-machining	Light-duty, low-cost
Steel / 304 & 316 stainless	Structural sleeve	Wear sleeves, structural, corrosion (304 general, 316 marine)
Aluminium 6061	Light structural sleeve	Weight-critical spacer sleeves — structural, not a sliding bearing surface
PTFE / Rulon / filled	Self-lubricating plastic	Chemical, dry, low friction
UHMWPE / nylon / Delrin	Machined or molded plastic	Dry-running, quiet, light load, food-safe

Not sure which? Tell us the load, speed and whether it's lubricated and we'll recommend. For higher plastic quantities we can also mold rather than machine — part of being a full custom parts maker in any material.

A note on self-lubricating limits. Oil-impregnated (sintered) bronze runs maintenance-free in a typical band of about −30 to 100 °C and is best for rotary, low-to-moderate speed and load — its self-lubrication comes from oil drawn out of the pores, so it suits dry-start but not high heat. For high temperature, oscillating motion or dirty, no-oil environments, graphite-plugged bronze (solid lubricant) is the better choice; for chemical or very-low-friction dry running, PTFE-based liners win. Give us the load, surface speed and temperature and we'll match the material to the duty (PV).

Bushing Weight & Material Cost — Compare Live

Bushing material drives cost, weight and how it runs against the shaft. Bronze and self-lubricating grades suit bearing duty; 316L resists corrosion; a plastic liner runs dry and light. Enter your bushing's outer diameter, bore and length to compare the exact weight and relative material cost of each option:

Typical Applications

• Pivot and hinge bushings on machinery and equipment
• Sliding bearings in pumps, gearboxes and presses
• Wear sleeves on shafts and pins
• Replacement bushings for discontinued machines
• Vintage and classic restoration parts

Bushing, Bush, Sleeve or Plain Bearing — Naming the Same Part

US catalogues call it a bushing, UK suppliers write bush, a longer thin-walled one is a sleeve, and when it carries a rotating shaft it becomes a plain bearing — in bronze, often a bronze bearing bush. They are all the same turned part to us: an OD, an ID, a length and a fit. If your drawing says any of the four, or nothing at all, we machine it to the dimensions that matter.

The same two-fit logic runs through the neighbouring parts: a piston is an OD plus its seal grooves, and a bearing housing is the bore the bush presses into.

See also plastic bushings and plain bearings — cast nylon, POM and PE-UHMW bushes bored to a measured shaft, with the press-fit bore closure and running clearance worked out — and PE-UHMW machined parts.

Frequently Asked Questions