Graphitbuchsen

Graphite bushings will damage over time due to friction between the bushing and the rotating shaft it supports.

Designing the bushing system with a significant emphasis on damage resistance is the key to minimizing bushing damage due to friction.

You can improve bushing performance, and the required maintenance frequency can be minimized by following certain precautions.

Due to the numerous variables that might affect wear, graphite damage rates are highly application-specific such as load, speed, presence of abrasives, etc.

It implies that when it comes to maximizing wear resistance, there are a lot of factors to consider.

Select the Right Grade

Correct grade selection is crucial when building graphite bushings, and Bushing MFG takes care of this matter.

There are hundreds of different graphite grades available on the market, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks.

Many factors must be addressed when deciding on the optimal graphite grade,

• Whether the application is wet or dry running.
• What’s the temperature where you’re working?
• What are the loads and speeds involved?
• Are there any caustic chemicals in the area?
• What is the maximum amount of wear that a bearing can tolerate over time?

Finally, contacting your graphite producer directly is the best method to confirm you’re utilizing the correct grade for your application.

Select the Right Shaft Material

The choice of shaft material can have just as much of an effect on bushing damage as the graphite grade.

The shaft must be as rigid and smooth as possible.

A more demanding shaft will keep its surface finish for a more extended period than a softer one.

Maintaining a smooth surface finish on the shaft throughout its service life will significantly reduce wear, which is why only the carbon should wear during operation.

Common industry recommendations are a hardness of Rc 35 or higher and a surface finish of 16 inches or better.

Corrosion resistance must also be sufficient to avoid rusting or pitting, which degrades the finish.

Use Abrasives Carefully

Abrasives are highly damaging to graphite bushings.

Abrasives can easily scrape the surface of graphite, considerably speeding up damage rates.

If abrasives are used in an application, you can do the following steps to reduce their impact:

Grooves on the bushing ID can be used to “flush away” as much as possible of the abrasive material.

Liquid introduced into the bearing’s operating clearance can help reduce damaging contact between the bearing and the abrasive particles.

You can combat the harmful effects of abrasive build-up by diluting the concentration of abrasives and draining them out of the running clearance.

Liquid Lubrication

The liquid inside a graphite bushing’s operating clearance can almost avoid bushing deterioration.

Impervious graphite bearings can maintain a hydrodynamic layer that functions as a barrier between the bearing and the shaft if there is enough fluid.

When compared to dry operating, this allows the graphite bushing to sustain much higher PV values.

In other cases, submerged bushings can tolerate PV values 75 times higher than those achievable when operating dry.

Even if the bushing isn’t completely submerged in liquid, splash, steam, or intermittent lubrication can help reduce wear significantly.

Lessen the PV value

Bushing damage is a result of load and sliding speed. PV can be used to reduce this damage.

Graphite bearings can usually resist continuous exposure to a PV value of around 30k psift/min in dry operating conditions.

Increasing the region over which the weight is distributed is one of the simplest ways to minimize an application’s PV value. By simply lengthening the bushing, bearing designers may achieve this.

The application’s PV value is decreased by half by doubling the bushing’s length, thereby increasing the bearing’s operational life.

Bushing MFG made graphite bushings are damage resistant. However, you must take care of the points listed above to avoid risks.