Hi all,
Has anyone attempted to make their own replacement bushes at home on a lathe from the ever widening range of engineering plastics available today? If so, what type did you use and how successful was it?
tia
Hi all,
Has anyone attempted to make their own replacement bushes at home on a lathe from the ever widening range of engineering plastics available today? If so, what type did you use and how successful was it?
tia
I have turned many_a_bush out of various materials, including PTFE, nylon and brass etc.
I have also printed some from PLA on my 3D printer.
The last was more of an insert / converter than a traditional bush as such. It allowed me to use a 20mm OD stainless steel stub axle inside some 50 x 50mm box section steel (not for on-road use etc).
Cheers, T i m
I've made a few bushes / adaptors / spacers out of various plastics, but not many for automotive applications.
In general I would expect car manufacturers to be using the most suitable materials and designs.
If you have a specific problem in mind, I could probably advise on the most suitable plastic(s). There isn't a single simple answer, you need to look at things like the load, the sliding speed (or details of the oscillatory motion for reciprocating parts). And the environment: is it well sealed, exposed to water, exposed to water and debris?
You can get 2 part polyurethane, 95 shore from MB Fibreglass.
Don't forget to order a colour dye as well. Cast in situ, simple mould made from cut up plastic bottle tacked with hot melt glue and sealed with a bead of silicone. Mix thoroughly being careful not to entrain air bubbles and pour smoothly. It goes off fast about 2min to stiff, 1 hour to de-mold, 24 hours hard enough to bounce when hit on floor. Need to rig a jig to hold the recovered centre tube square. I suppose you could just fill the rod end and then drill a hole for the tube.
Useful link, thanks.
Here's the exact link for that product.
Just for clarification, there's a distinction between bushes which slide and those where the movement is taken up by elastic distortion of a rubbery material.
I'm talking specifically auto applications.
Well they would, wouldn't they?
I'm thinking about vehicle suspension, steering and braking components here, so yes, anything that dissolves in water is going to be problematic. ;-)
In that case, these components are likely to be safety-critical. You may have problems with MOTs - or even invalidate your insurance - if the correct items are not used.
And they seem like a nice Co to do business with. After looking at your link I spotted a mistake on that page and dropped them a line.
They replied straight away with a 'thanks' and have corrected the error. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
Yes you should inform the insurance you have fitted uprated polyurethane bushes.
They have to have fallen off to fail an MOT.
ARB end has to have fallen off.
Mate has a Fiesta, rear nearside suspension bush goes clunk but it passes MOT (3x now).
Not a lot of commonly used plastics dissolve in water. Nylon, however, does swell significantly.
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