Plain bearings, also referred to as bushes, bushings or sleeve bearings, are usually cylindrical in shape and contain no moving parts. Standard configurations include cylindrical bearings for radial loads, flanged bearings for radial and light axial loads, thrust washers and flanged thrust washers for heavy axial loads and sliding plates of various shapes.

A sleeve bearing is a type of plain bearing that can handle high loads and velocities. Sleeve bearings help make engines run smoothly and quietly. These durable and long lasting bearings can also perform well in other high-load, high-velocity applications, such as machines and turbines.

Sleeve Bearing (left) and Flanged Bearing (right) Specifications. There are several important dimensional specifications for plain bearings and sleeve bearings. Bushing clearance is the distance in the radial movement of the shaft that rides within the bushing. The operational clearance is different than the initial internal clearance.