Downtime in strip rolling mills often starts with overlooked components like bushings. Using well-designed bronze bushings can significantly improve uptime due to increased wear resistance, reduced maintenance needs, and by ensuring smooth operation of both hot and cold rolling applications.
Reliability is a crucial aspect of high-output strip rolling mills. When bushings wear out, the consequences can be felt on the entire line, triggering unplanned downtime, increasing maintenance demands, and slowing throughput. More and more steel mill operators are recognizing the necessity of using bronze bushings.
AMPCO METAL has engineered theirs specifically to withstand the extreme friction, load, and thermal cycling found in both hot and cold strip applications. With superior wear resistance, excellent dimensional stability, and reduced lubrication requirements, AMPCO bronze bushings provide the required performance that keeps rolling operations running with fewer interruptions and maintenance interventions.
In strip rolling mills, bushings are exposed to an exhausting combination of friction, side loading, vibration, and in hot strip lines, continuous thermal cycling. Many facilities still rely on conventional bushing materials like standard bronze, carbon steel, or cast iron. These materials simply weren’t engineered for these conditions. The result is accelerated wear, surface damages, dimensional instability, and increased risk of seizure or galling.
There are three key areas where these materials are typically inadequate:
Frequent failures mean more shutdowns, repeated maintenance responses, and higher operating costs. In both hot and cold rolling applications, bushings that can’t provide consistent performance quickly become liabilities which undermine productivity and increase losses from downtime.
Unlike conventional materials, AMPCO bronze bushings are specifically engineered for long-term reliability in high-load, high-abrasion environments. Their low coefficient of friction and great resistance to adhesive wear significantly reduce the risk of seizing or scoring. These are the two of the most common causes of unplanned shutdowns in strip rolling mills.
AMPCO’s aluminum bronze alloys offer:
In both hot and cold strip lines, this results in fewer maintenance interventions, longer operating cycles, and a substantial reduction in bushing-related downtime. For mill operators, that translates directly into increased throughput and improved scheduling predictability across the entire rolling operation.
Unlike commercial components, AMPCO® bronze bushings have been developed to perform specifically under demanding conditions of strip rolling lines. In hot strip applications, they maintain structural integrity under high thermal loads, resisting distortion and thermal fatigue thanks to their excellent heat dissipation and mechanical strength. In cold strip operations, they maintain tight tolerances and reliable alignment, even during continuous high-speed operations.
Key advantages include:
Whether used in pivot points, tension systems, or coiler mandrels, AMPCO bushings help ensure that the mechanical performance of the steel mill stays consistent, while minimizing disruption and maximizing output across both hot and cold rolling operations.
Animation of AMPCO aluminum bronze bushings used in DC mandrels. You can watch the full video here!
Downtime in strip rolling mills is often attributed to major system failures, but it’s usually the result of small components that aren’t optimized for the harsh operating conditions. Bushings are a prime example.
AMPCO® aluminum bronze bushings offer a clear advantage over traditional materials due to enhanced wear resistance, dimensional stability, thermal performance, and long-term reliability. For operators running both hot and cold strip lines, switching to AMPCO provides several benefits. From reduced interventions, through extended equipment life, to restoring complete control over uptime.
Download our technical paper for further comprehensive details on enhancing steel mill performance with advanced alloys.