Bronze bushings have been keeping industry moving for hundreds of years.  Here at National Bronze Mfg. Co., we have been supplying a number of these industries with quality bronze bushings since 1911.  Many of the new employees we train here at National Bronze Mfg are quite surprised when learning how bronze bushings play critical roles in a huge range of different industries.  Their uses are often overlooked due to the fact that a bronze bushing in use is often hidden away, pressed into a housing and/or covered by grease.  These time tested workhorses rarely get their moment in the spotlight, so we decided to imagine what our everyday life would be like without these critical components.  Below are 5 ways your life would be harder without bronze bushings.

Your trash would pile up sky high alongside of your curb.

Waste Transportation Equipment (Garbage Trucks, Roll off Containers, etc.) depend on bronze bushings in a number of their pivot points.  Without the load bearing strength of the bronze bushing these types of equipment would quickly fail, leaving your trash to pile up for unknown lengths of time.

Say goodbye to thermoformed plastic products.

Take a look in your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards.  Your home is most likely filled with thermoformed food packaging designed for protection, display, and transportation.  The coffee cake you just bought for breakfast is held in a protective thermoformed plastic container. Deli Salads and Rotisserie Chickens have their own thermoformed plastic packaging.  Boxes of cherry tomatoes and strawberries are also example of plastic products made by thermoforming machinery.

Thermoformed plastic products use thermoforming presses to mold their plastic products.  The global market for thermoformed plastic goods was 6.8 billion pounds in 2012 and is expected to increase to 8.5 billion pounds by 2017.  Throughout these rapid production machinery you can find bronze bushings ensuring continuous trouble free operation in a number of areas.  Without the support of the bronze bushing this type of equipment would not be able to meet the huge demand for the thermoformed plastic containers worldwide.

Watch out for runaway buses.

Not the type from the 1994 Action Adventure movie starring Keanu Reeves, but the kind of runaways buses caused by faulty brake assemblies.

Buses on the road today use bronze bushings in a number of areas throughout their construction, one very important area is the functionality of the brake assembly.  The bronze bushing acts as a sacrificial component, protecting the other brake components.  These bronze bushings bear much of the load caused by the use of the buses brakes. Buses around the world depend on a steady supply of these high quality parts that are regularly replaced during periodic scheduled maintenance of the bus.  Without the bronze bushing the brake assembly would frequently fail, leaving us with dangerous streets full of out of control runaway buses.

Good luck getting a tow truck for your broken down car.

Tow trucks across the US rely on the strength and reliability of bronze bushings to support its moving arm.  Bronze bushings are used throughout the lifting mechanism.  Without the bronze bushing there wouldn’t be anyone to call when you’re stranded on the side of the road.  Think of the reliable bronze bushing next time a tow truck saves you from the side of the road.

The phrase “Make sure you seat belt is fastened and tray is in the upright position” would take on a new meaning.

A Boeing Co. 737 takes off or lands somewhere in the world every two seconds and as the old aviation adage goes “take offs are optional and landings are mandatory.”

Aircraft landing gear supports the entire weight of an aircraft during landing and ground operations. They are attached to primary structural members of the aircraft. In addition to supporting the aircraft for taxi, the forces of impact on an aircraft during landing must be controlled by the landing gear. Landing gear is one of the critical subsystems of an aircraft. It is designed to absorb and dissipate the kinetic energy of landing impact.  The landing gear also facilitates braking of the aircraft.

Moving components of the landing gear are linked by bushings made of a special bronze alloy, with main bolts holding moving parts together. Bushings are important because it keeps required pins in place. If a damaged pin in the nose landing gear wheel becomes loose and falls out, it becomes very dangerous to land for everyone on board. Without the bronze landing gear bushings this critical subsystem would not be able to function properly resulting in some very bumpy landings.

Much of the trucking industry would come to a halt.

Commercial truck traffic is vital to our nation’s economic prosperity.  Our economy depends on trucks to deliver tens of billions of tons of virtually every commodity consumed.  Beginning with the transportation of raw materials to the manufacturer then the finished goods to the wholesaler and finally from the wholesaler to your local retailer.  Virtually every type of good travels by trucks at one point or another.

Many of those heavy duty trucks are supported by a system called a leaf spring suspension.  As you may be able to guess by now, incorporated in these leaf spring suspension systems are bronze bushings.  Commonly referred to as leaf spring or spring eye bushings, these bronze bushings are designed to create a protective layer between the shackle bolt and the spring itself.  Bronze bushings allow the spring to move with minimum damage.  Without these protective components, leaf spring suspensions would fail and need to be constantly replaced.  This interruption would cause detrimental consequences to our economy as a whole.

As you can see a world without bronze bushings would be a very difficult place to live.  Luckily the bronze bushing isn’t going anywhere soon.  We have been proudly manufacturing bronze bushings since 1911.  To learn more about the bronze bushings we manufacture here at National Bronze Mfg. Co. follow the links below.

Cast Bronze Bushings

Oil Impregnated Bronze Bushings

Graphite Plugged Bronze Bushings

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