Plain bearing with overlay

摘要

A method of making a multi-layer plain bearing (21) comprises roll-bonding a relatively soft aluminium-tin alloy overlay (12) to a harder aluminium-based bearing substrate (10) and then roll-bonding the composite to a steel backing (18). Following heat treatment conventional for reticulation of the aluminium-tin alloy, the surface is machined to give a precise overall bearing thickness of which the aluminium-tin overlay is in the range 0.01-0.10 mm, typical of an overlay but having greater fatigue strength and wear resistance than conventional electro-deposited materials. Aluminium interlayers may be included. The overlay, substrate and backing strips may be roll-bonded simultaneously (Figure 2) or the aluminium-tin alloy may be roll-bonded onto an intermediate bearing of copper-based alloy cast or sintered onto a steel or bronze backing (Figure 3).