Polyurethane Bushings, Bearings & Sleeves

Parts we make

An overview of the bushings, bearings and sleeves we cast in polyurethane. The list is not exhaustive: tell us about your part and what it does.

Bague cylindrique en polyuréthane coulé à chaud, offerte de 10 Shore A à 85 Shore D selon la charge — fabricant Soremag

Custom cylindrical bushingSleeve — cast to the size of the shaft and the housing

Coussinet et palier lisse en polyuréthane 95 Shore A à 75 Shore D, alternative au bronze qui grippe et au nylon qui fend

Bushing & plain bearingBushing — hardness to suit the load, quiet and no seizing

Douille de centrage et de protection en polyuréthane coulé, alésage usiné à tolérance serrée — Soremag, Laval (Québec)

Centering or protection ferruleFerrule — to take up clearance or protect a bore

Manchon en polyuréthane coulé sur mesure, formulations du souple au rigide selon l'abrasion et la charge — Soremag Québec

Custom sleeve, from soft to rigidSleeve — protection, drive or coupling

Entretoise d'espacement en polyuréthane amortissant, dureté choisie selon la compression admissible — Soremag Québec

Cushioning spacerSpacer — holds the gap, isolates metal-to-metal contact

Anneau et rondelle moulés en polyuréthane résistant à la coupure et au déchirement — fabricant québécois Soremag

Molded rings and washersRings — support, shimming or cushioning, to your pattern

Guide et bague de guidage en polyuréthane haute dureté à faible friction — Soremag Québec

Rod and shaft guidesGuides — they slide and cushion without marking

Isolateur de vibration en polyuréthane coulé, duretés souples de 10 à 60 Shore A pour absorber l'hystérésis et les chocs

Vibration isolatorVibration isolator — hardness to suit the load and the frequency

Bague en polyuréthane avec insert métallique en acier adhérisé au moulage — fabricant de pièces surmoulées, Laval (Québec)

Bushing with a metal insertMetal-insert bushing — rigid backbone, polyurethane working surface

Manchon en polyuréthane surmoulé sur tube d'acier, adhérence chimique par préparation de surface et adhérisation

Sleeve overmolded on steelSteel-bonded sleeve — adhesion validated for the service

Bague fendue en polyuréthane coulé à chaud pour montage sans démontage de l'arbre — atelier Soremag, Québec

Split part, installed without disassemblySplit bushing — for tight access

Bague à épaulement (flanged) en polyuréthane 90-95 Shore A, pour reprendre efforts axiaux et radiaux

Flanged bushingFlanged bushing — carries both the axial and the radial load

Profil sur mesure en polyuréthane, cannelé ou à gorges, moulé selon plan ou échantillon par reverse engineering

Custom profile from your patternCustom profile — splined, grooved or with multiple shoulders

Cylindrical bushings

Guide or support sleeves slipped onto a shaft or into a housing. Polyurethane cushions and resists wear without seizing or corroding.

Bushings & plain bearings (bushings)

Interface between two moving parts, replacing bronze or rubber. Runs quietly and stands up well to moisture, depending on the application.

Ferrules

Centering, protection or support ferrules, cast to the size of the shaft and the housing. Handy to take up clearance or protect a bore.

Sleeves

Protection, drive or coupling sleeves, from soft to rigid. A tough polyurethane working surface around the component to be protected.

Spacers

Spacing parts that hold a set distance between two components, while absorbing shock and isolating metal-to-metal contact.

Rings

Molded rings and washers for support, shimming or cushioning. Cast to the shape you need, with no expensive metal tooling, depending on the project.

Guides

Guides and guide bushings that position a shaft, a rod or a moving part. Polyurethane slides and cushions while limiting marking.

Vibration isolators

Bushings, pads and mounts that decouple two parts to cut vibration and noise. Hardness chosen to suit the load and the frequency, depending on the project.

Bushings with a metal insert

Polyurethane cast onto an insert, a tube or a washer in steel or stainless : a rigid backbone for the mounting, a polyurethane working surface. See overmolding on metal →

Sleeves overmolded on steel

Sleeves cast directly onto a steel shaft or tube, with adhesion validated for the metal and the service. A metal + polyurethane combination in a single part, depending on the project.

Split parts

Split bushings or sleeves for installation without disassembly of the shaft, when access is tight. Feasibility and service life to be validated for the application.

Flanged parts

Collar or shoulder bushings (“flanged” type) to carry an axial load on top of the radial one. Profile and dimensions set to suit the mounting.

Custom profiles

Special shapes, splined, grooved or with multiple shoulders, cast and machined to your drawing, your sample or your requirement — depending on the project.

Have a specific bushing or sleeve in mind, or a sample to copy? Tell us about your part →

Choosing the formulation

There is no universal “best” polyurethane. The right choice is made case by case, depending on the project, from the real service conditions. Here is what we look at with you.

Load

Magnitude and type of load (radial, axial, point load) the part has to carry — a starting point for the hardness and the formulation.

Motion

Rotation, sliding, oscillation or a fixed mount: the type of motion steers the formulation and the surface finish.

Speed

Relative speed of the surfaces in contact, which drives heat build-up and wear depending on the application.

Compression & deformation

Load held over time and allowable deformation: to watch in order to avoid compression set, depending on the project.

Temperature

Service temperature, ambient and local, which can narrow the choice of polyurethane chemistry.

Water & moisture

Presence of water, steam or moisture: the chemistry (ester, ether, polycaprolactone) is chosen accordingly.

Oils & chemicals

Contact with oils, greases or solvents — to be validated against the products involved and the contact time.

Impact

Repeated or occasional shock: polyurethane can absorb the impact, within a range to be defined for the part.

Cycles

Frequency and duration of loading (dynamic): useful to anticipate fatigue and heat build-up.

The properties given depend on the formulation selected and on the real operating conditions. Any gain over an existing part is confirmed by testing or by operating data.

Atelier

Precision machining

Once the part is cast, it is machined to size in the shop. Depending on the part, we can run the following operations to reach the diameters, the lengths and the finishes you need.

Tournage — mise en forme extérieure et intérieure de la pièce.
Alésage — reprise du diamètre intérieur à la cote de l'arbre.
Rectification — finition de surface et respect des tolérances serrées, selon le projet.
Perçage — trous de fixation, de lubrification ou de dégagement.
Chanfreins — arêtes cassées pour faciliter le montage.
Mise au diamètre — ajustement du diamètre extérieur au logement.
Coupe à longueur — mise à la hauteur ou à la largeur voulue.
Profils sur mesure — gorges, épaulements et formes particulières selon le plan.

Where our bushings and sleeves work

Three application families where cast polyurethane proves itself — and the industries where you find it.

Conveyors & material handling

Cam follower and roller bushings, chain guides, pivot bushings: parts that turn millions of cycles in dusty conditions, with no greasing.

See the conveyor industry →

Industrial manufacturing & equipment

Machine joints and pivots, cushioning mounts, cylinder bushings: polyurethane cuts clearance, noise and maintenance on specialized equipment.

See industrial manufacturing →

Steel, metals & heavy loads

Heavily loaded bushings, shaft protection sleeves and heavy-equipment bearings: where bronze seizes and rubber crushes down.

See the steel & metals industry →

Reproducing a part with no drawing

A worn bushing, with no drawing and no part number? Often we can reproduce it from the sample.

Reverse engineering

From the sample to the new part

From an existing part, even a worn one, we work to rebuild the original dimensions. Several dimensions can be deduced from

the shaft, the housing, the contact surfaces and the wear marks

— so as to get back to a functional fit.

Depending on the condition of the part, some dimensions still have to be validated with you. We confirm the critical dimensions, the hardness and the material together before casting, depending on the project.

Learn more about reverse engineering →

Bague en polyuréthane rouge usée et étiquetée, alésage ovalisé, servant d'échantillon pour reproduction sans plan

Mesure au pied à coulisse numérique d'une bague usée avec croquis coté sur planchette — reverse engineering, Soremag Québec

Comparaison avant-après : bague usée à côté de la bague neuve reproduite en polyuréthane rouge coulé à chaud

Questions about polyurethane bushings and sleeves

Why replace a bronze, rubber or plastic bushing with polyurethane? +

Depending on the application, a polyurethane bushing or bearing can cut wear, absorb impact and vibration and limit metal-to-metal contact, while standing up to moisture and corrosion. The real gain depends on the load, the motion and the environment the part works in, and is confirmed by testing or by operating data.

Can you make bushings with a metal insert or overmolded on steel? +

Depending on the project, polyurethane can be cast onto a metal insert or tube, with a surface preparation and a bonding system suited to the metal and the intended service. That gives a bushing or a sleeve that combines a rigid backbone and a polyurethane working surface. See our page on bonding polyurethane to metal.

Can you reproduce a bushing or a sleeve without the original drawing? +

Often, yes. From a sample, even a worn one, we can rebuild several dimensions using the shaft, the housing, the contact surfaces and the wear marks. Some dimensions still have to be validated with you depending on the condition of the part. Details on our page on reverse engineering.

Bushings, bearings and sleeves in polyurethane

When bronze seizes and rubber crushes down