letter 53594

Surface roughness (polishing) of cast iron bearing guide 

November 10, 2009

Dear SIR/Madam,

We are using a T shape sliding bearing, the slide is made form ALU-Bronze and the guide is made of Cast iron. Velocity is less than .5 m/sec with high contacting pressure. What is the best surface roughness on cast iron? Somebody suggests us that the surface should be coarse with some pattern with the .01 mm depth on the cast iron guide (for lubrication).

I think the surface should be polished with roughness around 1 micro meter. I would deeply appreciate it you could send me some information.

Best Regards

Mano A
maintenance eng. - IRAN

Hi, Mano. This website is more about metal finishing than bearing design, so I don't feel especially qualified to answer. But I believe that the bronze bearing is designed to be porous and carry the lubricant, and to be soft; and the better the polish on the cast iron, the better the performance.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey