How to consider wear resistance when purchasing copper sleeves?

Copper sleeves

Wear resistance is one of the most critical factors of copper sleeves. The better the wear resistance, the longer the life of the copper sleeve, the lower the maintenance cost, and the more reliable the operation of mechanical parts. Therefore, many users will consider wear resistance when purchasing copper sleeves.

We always think that the higher the hardness of the copper sleeve, the better the wear resistance. In fact, there is a certain misunderstanding. For example, the adhesion of copper sleeves with higher hardness to lubricants is not as good as that of copper sleeves with lower hardness; furthermore, copper sleeves with higher hardness are prone to local peeling and cracking when subjected to impact loads due to poor toughness; copper sleeves with higher hardness will also cause excessive wear of the shaft due to the small hardness difference with the shaft.

Do copper sleeves have to have good wear resistance? Actually not. In the mechanical system, copper sleeves are important load-bearing components, and they also exist as vulnerable parts and consumables. Wear is inevitable. In the relative movement between the shaft and the copper sleeve, we must first protect the shaft from excessive wear, so we must keep a certain hardness difference between the shaft and the copper sleeve.

Generally, the value of the shaft is relatively high, while the value of the copper sleeve is relatively low. In addition, the machining and disassembly precision and assembly difficulty of the shaft are relatively high. The installation, maintenance and replacement of the copper sleeve or copper bushing are relatively easy. Therefore, when selecting the material of the copper sleeve, a copper alloy grade with lower hardness will be selected, such as phosphorus-tin bronze, aluminum-iron bronze, tin-zinc-lead bronze, etc. Different copper alloys are selected according to different use conditions, and the material selection of the shaft will be harder or more wear-resistant. In view of this, in almost all shaft and copper sleeve combinations, the shaft will use steel-based materials, and the bushing will use copper materials.

The following are several commonly used copper alloy grades. You can choose a suitable copper sleeve to adapt the shaft according to your actual working conditions:

• High-strength brass, the chemical formula is ZCuZn24Al6Fe4n3, high-strength brass has high hardness, good toughness, impact resistance and corrosion resistance.
• Aluminum bronze copper sleeve is a copper-based alloy with aluminum as the main alloying element. It is an aluminum bronze containing iron and manganese elements with high strength, good wear resistance and good wear resistance.
• QAl10-3-15 aluminum bronze has high strength and friction resistance.
• 9-4-4-2 has high mechanical properties, excellent corrosion resistance in the atmosphere, fresh water and sea water, high corrosion fatigue strength, good castability and good wear resistance.
• Tin bronze is bronze with tin as the main alloying element. The tin content is generally between 3-14%, mainly used to make elastic components and wear-resistant parts, and sometimes phosphorus, lead, zinc and other elements are added.
• ZCuSn5Pb5zn5 is a cast copper alloy with good wear resistance and corrosion resistance.
• 10-1 copper sleeve has high hardness and excellent wear resistance. Adding lead to tin bronze can improve machinability and wear resistance. Phosphor bronze adds a trace amount of phosphorus to tin bronze to increase the strength and hardness of the alloy, and has excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance, which can increase wear resistance, hardness, fluidity and machinability.

Zhejiang Mingxu Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer that has been established for more than ten years and specializes in the production of copper alloy parts. It produces large copper sleeves, sliding bearings, bushings, bearing shells, copper slide plates, etc. in various specifications and materials.