CNC Turned Stainless Steel Sleeve Bushing
316L stainless sleeve bushings turned from bar with a heavy wall, a bore held to H7 and honed to 0.008 mm roundness, ends square to the bore within 0.02 mm and an outside diameter concentric to 0.02 mm. Lubrication holes and internal grooves are machined in the same set-up as the bore.
- Bore to H7
- Ends Square to the Bore
- Wall Uniform 0.05 mm
- Bore Honed on Request
*Tell us the shaft material and the surface speed. A stainless sleeve running on a stainless shaft will gall unless one of them is hardened or the bore is coated, and that changes the whole specification.
Stainless Sleeve Bushing Overview
A plain sleeve is the simplest bearing there is: a tube with a good bore. It works when the bore is round, the wall is uniform and the ends are square, because a sleeve that is squeezed oval by a bad housing will grip the shaft instead of supporting it.
The sleeve is turned from bar, bored to leave 0.1 mm for honing, and parted with stock on both ends. The ends are then faced square in a second operation and the bore is honed to size with a cross-hatch, which is what allows a lubricant film to survive.
316L Stainless Bar
316L is chosen for pump and valve sleeves that see water, coolant or mild chemicals, where a carbon steel sleeve would rust in the bore and seize on the shaft.
Bronze or Hardened Steel
Bronze is used where the sleeve has to run dry or embed debris. Hardened steel is specified for high load at low speed, where a stainless sleeve would wear and the shaft would follow.
Stainless on stainless is the combination to avoid unless one surface is hardened or coated; the galling shows up as a scored shaft within days.
Stainless Sleeve Bushing Specifications
Turning and honing data for sleeve bushings, with the bore, wall and squareness values that decide whether the shaft turns freely.
| Specification | Machining Data | Specification | Machining Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Sleeve Bushing / Plain Bearing Sleeve | Machining Process | CNC Turning, Boring, Honing, Facing |
| Material | 316L Stainless Bar | Outer Diameter | 12 – 120 mm |
| Bore Diameter | 8 – 100 mm, H7 | Length | 10 – 200 mm, ±0.05 mm |
| Wall Thickness | 2 – 12 mm, Uniform to 0.05 mm | End Squareness | 0.02 mm to the Bore |
| Bore Roundness | 0.008 mm Honed, 0.02 mm Bored | Concentricity | Bore to OD 0.02 mm |
| Surface Finish | Ra 0.8 µm Honed Bore, Ra 1.6 µm Bored | Passivation | ASTM A967 |
| Customization | Lubrication Holes, Grooves, Flanges, Chamfered Ends | Lead Time | 4 – 6 Days Sample, 11 – 14 Days Batch |
| Inspection | Air Gauge Bore, Roundness, End Squareness on Mandrel | Packing | Oil-Dipped, Individually Bagged, Carton |
Key Features of Our Sleeve Bushings
Honed bore, square ends, uniform wall.
Bore Honed to 0.008 mm
Honing after boring removes the tool mark and corrects ovality, so the shaft runs on a true bore rather than on two high spots.
Ends Square to the Bore
Both ends are faced with the bore as the reference, holding squareness to 0.02 mm, so the sleeve sits flat in its housing and does not cock under load.
Wall Measured All Round
Wall thickness is checked at four points, since an off-centre bore puts more material on one side and the sleeve then wears unevenly.
Lubrication Features in One Set-up
Holes and internal grooves are cut before the part leaves the lathe, so they land where the drawing puts them relative to the bore.
Sleeve that has to run on a shaft without galling?
Surface Finishes for Sleeve Bushings
The bore is a bearing surface, so its finish is functional rather than protective.
| Finish | Main Purpose | Finish | Main Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passivation | Corrosion protection inside and out | Electropolishing | Low-friction bore for food and pharma shafts |
| Honing | Cross-hatch that carries lubricant | Masked OD | Keeps a press fit on the outside diameter |
| PTFE Impregnation | Dry running on a pivot that cannot be lubricated | Glass Bead Blasting | Matte OD on visible hardware |
*Honing after any coating, never before. A coated bore that is honed first loses its cross-hatch under the coating and the sleeve runs dry.
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Turning and Honing Process
The bore is honed with a cross-hatch, so the sleeve holds a film of oil instead of wiping it off on the first stroke.
01. Fit and Material Review
Check the shaft and housing tolerances, the load and the surface speed, and confirm whether the sleeve runs lubricated, dry or in water.
02. Turn and Rough Bore
Turn the OD and faces, drill and rough bore leaving 0.1 mm for honing, and part with stock on both ends so they can be faced square later.
03. Face Both Ends
Hold the sleeve on a mandrel in the bore and face both ends to length, so the ends are square to the bore rather than to the outside diameter.
04. Hone the Bore
Hone to H7 with a cross-hatch, air gauge the diameter at three depths and check roundness before the part goes to cleaning.
05. Passivate and Pack
Ultrasonically clean, passivate, oil lightly and bag each sleeve individually so the honed bore is not touched in transit.
Send the shaft and housing fits with the running condition, and we will quote the sleeve with the bore honed to suit.
Stainless Sleeve Bushing FAQs
Because boring leaves a helical tool mark that wipes the lubricant off the shaft. Honing produces a cross-hatch that holds oil, and it also corrects the ovality a boring bar leaves in a thin wall.
0.008 mm honed and 0.02 mm bored. The honed figure is what matters for a shaft running at speed.
It can, because similar alloys gall. Either the shaft or the sleeve should be hardened, or the bore should be coated or run in bronze instead.
Yes, a flange can be turned integral in the same set-up, and the flange face is then square to the bore within 0.02 mm.
Within 0.05 mm at four measured points. The limit comes from the eccentricity of the bar itself, which is why the OD is turned before the bore is finished.
Either. Press fits are turned to the housing drawing with a 0.02 mm interference band, slip fits to H7, and the bore is finished after the OD either way.
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