NB’S SLIDE BUSHINGS ARE AVAILABLE AS TOTAL SYSTEMS

OR AS INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS - METRIC OR INCH.

The Engineering Basics

of Slide Bushings CONTENTS

Slide bushings give designers an economical way Anatomy of a slide

bushing … 1
to support linearly moving shafts that are moder-
ately loaded and reduce friction allowing for ease Bushing
styles … 2
of movement.
Lubrication, Preload,
Engineers in the packaging industry and those designing automated factory Misalignments … 3
equipment and machines with loaded shafts moving linearly – either back and forth, up
and down, or any orientation in between– often rely on slide bushing to support shafts.
These bushings, also known as ball slides or linear bearings, handle light to moderate loads
and speeds and are less expensive than linear guides which must be purchased as entire
assemblies – bearings, housing, supports, and shaft.

Anatomy of a slide bushing

Slide bushings are relatively simple in construction. They
consist of a metal outer sleeve and an inner ball retainer that
holds the rolling balls. Sleeves are usually made of steel, or, if
corrosion is a risk in the operating environment, stainless steel
and possibly aluminum. The retainer, which can be steel or
plastic, holds the balls in a precisely ground raceway which
allows the balls to recirculate as the shaft moves through back
and forth.
Metal parts in the bushing are often stamped or drawn
for economy measures. But this can distort the geometry of
the part, degrading the smoothness of shaft motion. The most
accurate manufacturing method is to broach the primary part
and then complete with precision grinding. The true and
straight surfaces of ground parts, such as the load plates or
raceways, provide more consistent control of the ball elements.
Smoothness and accuracy of raceways leads to longer life with
reduced wear as well.
In some linear bearings, such as the NB Corp.’s TOPBALL Slide bushings, also known as Sponsored by
bushing, the raceway (load plate) is significantly curved. ball slides, ball bushings or linear
This provides a circular arch contact to the ball elements and bearings, can be equipped with
disperses the load over a wider area. It also lets the bushing a variety of flanges to facilitate
provide up to three times the load capacity and, therefore, 27 installation and to hold the bushing
times the travel life of conventional slide bushings. in place and support a moving shaft. Presented by
Steel retainers, (also called cages) are more durable than
resin ones and can survive in harsh environments such as in
high temperature and vacuum condition. Resin retainers, on

1
 NB’S SELF-ALIGNING TOPBALL® SLIDE PRODUCTS
Anatomy of a slide bushing … 1
OFFER 27 TIMES MORE TRAVEL LIFE TO AUTOMATION
EQUIPMENT, MACHINERY AND INSTRUMENTS.
the other hand, cut costs and weight. In some cases,
plastic retainers combined with other plastic parts
such as endcaps, lower the bushing’s weight by up to
50%. Plastic cages and ball return sections also reduce
the amount of noise a bushing will generate as they
recirculate.
Bushings often have wiper seals that surround the
shaft as it moves. The wiper seals, whether flexible Slide ring
plastic or nitrile rubber, serve to keep lubricants inside
the bushing and keep contaminants out.
Hard contaminants, such as metal filings,
damage the shaft and balls, increasing wear. Softer
contaminants, such as foodstuffs or saw dust which
might be found on packaging machines, can gum
up the works, stopping the balls from recirculating
and will cause excessive friction, wear, and ultimately
shorten the bushing’s life. And some absorbent
contaminants, such as sawdust, will suck the oil out of
the grease and leave the bearings dry.
Bushing styles … 2
Bushings can be outfitted with single or in some
cases even double-lipped wiper seals. In a double-lip
seal, the outer seal stops contaminants from getting into the
bushing and ball elements. The inner seal traps the lubricants in
with the recirculating balls where it can do its job. In a single-
lip seal, one seal handles both functions.
For most applications, external seals made of felt do
an acceptable job. The seals extend the period between
relubrication but must be fixed externally on each side of a
bushing. For high-temperature applications, users are advised
to specify fluororubber seals that can withstand the heat or go
without seals.
Some companies manufacture bushing with floating
integral wiper seals. It allows for self alignment while
maintaining equal and constant contact on the shaft. These
seals do not add to the overall length of the bushing and allow
for more compact designs.
Lubrication, Preload, Misalignments … 3
An alternative are bellows. These flexible cloth coverings
enclose the entire shaft and bushing, ensuring no contaminants
or debris gets on the shaft and then infiltrates the bushing.
These are often recommended for extremely dirty environments
such as sawmills. They are also usually installed along with seals.
Metal way covers are the toughest solution but can take up
much more space than collapsible bellow covers.
The shaft held by the bushing must be hardened to HRC60
to match the bushing’s hardness and prevent the ball elements
from damaging the shaft. Most linear bushings are designed to
fit ‘g6’ or ‘Class L’ diameter tolerance shafts, though there are
bushings available for other sizes.
Bushing styles
Designers have a wide variety of linear bushing to choose
form to meet their application’s needs. They include:
Cylindrical: These are simple bushings that slide into holes in
Load plate
Resin outer cylinder
Floating seal Resin retainer
Ball element
The TOPBALL slide bushing from NB Corp. is self-aligning and features
load plates which provide circular-arch contact to the balls for greater
dispersion of the load. This gives the bushing up to three times
the load capacity and 27 times the travel life of conventional slide
bushings.
support blocks or other components to reduce friction on the
shaft. The hole must be relatively precise to provide a good slip
fit avoiding radial play, but snap rings and other hardware can
be used to keep the bushing loosely in place longitudinally.
Flanged: Bushings in this category come with a wide
mounting flange on one end. They are often more compact
than the combination of a cylindrical bushing and its housing.
The flange, which contains holes for mounting hardware, can
be round or square, or just partial rectangles or circles if space
is a premium. The bore through the flange does not need to be
precise because a screw holds the bushing in place.
Housed: These bushing come installed in a pillow block,
a common component used for shaft support. The major
advantage of housed bushings is that the housing provides a
flat mounting surface. The housings can be metal or plastic.
The precision machined components can contribute to higher
accuracy and less design time, and, in the case of plastic
versions, lighter weight and lower costs.
Open: Some shafts have a support rail, usually on the bottom
of the shaft, to make the finished linear-motion setup more rigid.
This allows the strokes to be longer and prevents the shaft from
deflecting under its own weight or load. Open bushings have a
slot down running the length of the cylinder to accommodate
the rail. The opening reduces the number of recirculating balls
inside the bushing, so the load rating in reverse radial load (or
load pulling away from the shaft) is reduced.
Clearance adjustable: These bushings have a machined slit
the entire length of the barrel. It lets users clamp the housing
tighter and adjust the bushing’s fit in a hole. Adjusting the
tension of the clamping device also lets users add an adjustable
amount of add preload to the linear busing.
Double-wide: Extra-wide bushings such as these provide
a larger moment capacity, letting the shaft and bushings resist
2
 NB’S SLIDE BUSHINGS HAVE THE HIGHEST QUALITY
PRECISION GRADE WIPER SEALS.
side and offset loads as
the shaft moves. Longer
bushings also add more
support to the shaft.
There are also
variations of slide
bushings, namely stroke
bushings and slide
rotary bushings. Both
share slide bushing’s
compactness and
convenience in terms of
The TKD slide bushing from NB Corp.
installation and design
is a double-wide open version. The
requirements, but
open slot in the bushing lets the shaft
support more than just
be supported from one side by a rail.
linear motion. Stroke
The extra length gives more support
bushings, for example,
to the shaft, increasing the bushing’s
are limited in the stroke
load capacity, and compensates for
lengths they can handle,
offset and side loads
but have their bearings
configured to support high rotary speeds as well. Slide rotary
bushings also facilitate linear and rotary motion. They are
limited in how fast the shaft can spin (rpm), but can be used
with shafts of unlimited length.
Some bushing manufacturers provide precision-ground
shafts that give users an ideal fit between bushing and shaft.
They make for extremely accurate and smooth motion.
Lubrication
Lubrication is critical to linear bushings. Any metal-on-
metal contact between ball and shaft or ball and raceways can
be trouble. It accelerates wear on the bushing and shaft, quickly
leading to bearing seizure, which translates into downtime and
maintenance costs.
There are no such things as pre-lubed or lubed-for-life ball
elements suitable for linear bushings. Operators must supply
grease or oil on a regular basis. The simplest way to do this is
to install bushings with grease fittings and have technicians
regularly regrease them. The one caveat with this method is that
technicians sometimes overgrease the bushings, blowing out the
seals and creating more problems for maintenance personnel.
To avoid this problem, or if the bushings are mounted in
inconvenient or risky areas, some company install automated
grease lines. They are expensive, but they eliminate some
scheduled tasks and lower maintenance costs.
Oil can also be used instead of grease. If this is the case,
the bushings are supplied with felt patches that technicians
can access through an oil hole and add oil regularly as it dries
out eventually. The hole can be a feature of the manufactured
bushing or users can drill them in the center portion of the
outer bushing’s outer cylinder. Most manufacturers recommend
turbine oil on bushings in semiconductor-making equipment
and other machinery operating used in cleanrooms. But oil
Anatomy of a slide bushing … 1
drips away easily and cannot maintain a film of lubrication very
well. Grease, however, remains in contact with the bearings.
Preload
Preload offers linear bushings several advantages. In general,
preload puts an initial force on the ball elements, pushing
them toward the shaft. The initial force compensates for plastic
deformation of the balls caused by the weight of the shaft. The
amount of deformation is not linear, so deformation per unit
of load is less as the load increases. The preload, therefore, does
not increase as much when the bushing is operating and the
shaft moving. This helps the bushing retain its accuracy.
Proper preloading prevents the shaft from slipping or
skidding over the balls as it moves. This can be more prevalent
when the shaft is accelerating up to full speed. Although high
accelerations require higher preloads, this can increase wear and
lowers the load-carrying capacity of the linear bearing. Users
must examine their own applications to balance preload with
wear and keep in mind that excessive preload increases wear.
Bushing styles … 2
Preloading also eliminates excess space between balls, giving
the shaft consistent, low-friction support and minimizing wear.
And preloading makes the entire motion-control assembly
stiffer, letting it resist forces created by vibration, acceleration,
and changes in acceleration (jerk). Stiffness makes the motion-
control assembly more accurate, as well.
Companies that make linear bushing give users several
options for adding preload. Clearance adjustable bushings, for
example, have a slit that lets users adjust preload by tailoring the
clamping force. Another method manufacturer’suse is to use
slightly larger balls, a common technique for all kinds of bearings.
Misalignments
Misalignments between the shaft and bushing are some
of the leading causes of premature wear and failure in linear
bushings. They can be caused by uneven mounting surfaces.The
surfaces might not be flat, straight, or parallel enough to mount
Lubrication, Preload, Misalignments … 3
a bushing. This means users should pay close attention to the
mounting surfaces and design of the machines frame.
Misalignments generate inconsistent loads on the bushing
and the continually uneven wear leads to pitting. The pits grow
in size and number, which degrades accuracy, makes the shaft
motionless smooth, and increases the noise emanating from the
bushing. Eventually the busing fails unless it is replaced.
To deal with misalignments, bushing makers have designed
and marketed self-aligning versions. The TopBall bushing, for
example, features load plates that are thinner at the outer ends
to provide a pivot point at the center of the plate. The center
acts as a fulcrum to compensate for any slight misalignment
between the shaft and the housing bore that might be caused
by inaccurate machining, mounting errors, or shaft deflection.
This design does introduce a slight amount of wobble to the
moving shaft, so using it depends on the degree of accuracy the
application demands.