Plastic Sleeve Bearings

Plastic sleeve bearings are now increasingly popular due to dry-running lubrication-free behavior. Solid polymer plain bearings are low weight, corrosion resistant, and maintenance free.

Plastic sleeve bearings are limited by the injection molding process. Not all shapes are possible with this process, and shapes that are possible are limited to what is considered good design practice for injection molding. Plastic bearings are subject to the same design cautions as all other plastic parts: creep, high thermal expansion, brittle fractures at cold temperatures, and swelling due to moisture absorption. While most bearing-grade plastics/polymers are designed to reduce these design cautions, they still exist and should be carefully considered before specifying a solid polymer (plastic) type.

Plastic bearings are now quite common, including usage in photocopy machines, tills, farm equipment, textile machinery, medical devices, food and packaging machines, car seating, and marine equipment.

Contact your Bearing Service representative to select what fits your application best.