igus' lubrication-free polymer bearings promise plenty

igus, a motion plastic solution provider can offer solutions to heavy-duty applications without need of greasing with their new range of maintenance-free, lubrication-free, tribo-polymer plain bearings.

These bearings offer a high wear resistance at high loads. Harsh environments pose very challenging technical requirements for plain bearings used in heavy-duty applications like construction machines, agricultural equipment, hydraulic cylinders, mounting brackets, etc.

In such applications, metallic bearings are usually heavily greased. In case of insufficient or missing lubrication, adverse weather conditions corrode bearings and cause premature failure. In a press note, the company said that polymer plain bearings are an alternative to metal bearings that are generally lubricated.

Igus offers a variety of heavy-duty polymer bearings, including:

• Injection moulded polymer plain bearings from materials like Iglidur Q, Iglidur Q2, Iglidur Q2E, Iglidur Z, Iglidur G etc. These materials can offer long service life at high loads with extreme conditions. For example, a material like Iglidur Q2 offers a high wear resistance with a maximum permissible compressive strength of upto 130 Mpa.
• Fibre wound polymer plain bearings from materials like Iglidur TX1 and Iglidur TX2. These bearings are made of high-strength filament fabric. The extremely strong filaments in its specially interwoven design ensures maximum wear resistance and enables a maximum permissible compressive strength of upto 400 MPa.

Iglidur plain bearings, including the materials mentioned above, are self-lubricating and operate in a dry environment. As a result, dirt does not adhere to the bearing points. This reduces maintenance and repair costs, as well as machine failures due to insufficient lubrication.

According to the company, iglidur bearings save customers not only on lubrication oil (or grease) and maintenance time but also reduce environmental pollution. An excavator of 16 tonnes needs 50 to 60 liters of lubricant per year, which ultimately ends up polluting the soil.