My contact person
Construction machines have a tough job: they have to operate reliably in every work environment and in all weather conditions. Moving machine elements are exposed to high loads and extreme environmental influences. Their only protection: lubrication. To ensure this, dozens of lubrication points on the machines have to be supplied manually with expensive lubrication systems. But does that have to be?
Loss lubrication: it does not have to be
Maintenance: is not necessarily required
Our white paper "Important success factors for lubrication-free bearing positions in construction machinery" covers the following topics:
Plastic that keeps its promise
One of the many successful laboratory and field tests:
igus high-load test rig, different bearings with a load of 60 N/mm² and a 50° swivel movement of 0.01m/s.
Ets Payant, a French company, produces a pulley module that is attached under an excavator boom and moves earth out of pits that are up to 65 metres deep. All components must withstand weather conditions, dust and strong impacts.
Transporting drill assemblies, cranes, lifting platforms and excavators through tough terrain is the task of the PowerBully track vehicle made by Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, based in Laupheim. All components must be absolutely reliable and able to handle trips through mud and mire. There must be no failures, since the nearest road is often kilometres away.
"The polymer bearings are about 40 per cent more cost-effective. They require no lubrication and their mass is less than that of the previously installed composite bearings."
Roland Georgi, Design Engineer at L&K
"Here, we previously used brass bushings [...] The bearings from igus, however, have an unbeatable price and outpaced brass in the test."
Ali Gülyaz, Design Engineer at Sennebogen
"We have successfully tested the pedals with millions of actuations to ensure years of trouble-free operation."
Michael Stoffers, Engineering Manager Mechanical Design, Sensata Technologies GmbH
To ensure this drilling device works even in dirty and moist environments, the design engineers opted for 16 robust and lubrication-free iglidur bearings.
In this interview, Uwe Sund talks about the growing trend towards lubrication-and maintenance-free bearings in construction machinery. Hardly surprising, since lubrication-free plain bearings reduce maintenance effort and lubricant costs. In order to make bearing points in construction machinery maintenance-free and significantly increase their service life, a few things have to be considered. You can find out what these are in the video.
iglidur® bearings are made of highly wear-resistant and friction-optimised iglidur® plastics. More than 60 different materials were specifically developed for their particular application areas. They are:
iglidur® GKF shafts are perfectly optimised for use in combination with dry running plain bearings, and increase the service life of your bearing points. As an alternative to galvanised or chromed shafts, GKF shafts offer an optimised gas-nitrided shaft surface as protection against corrosion and wear. They were especially developed for the use in agricultural and forestry machines, as well as for construction machinery and commercial vehicles.
The new iglidur® TX2 bearings were developed for use in particularly heavily loaded applications The high-strength, wound structure with integrated solid lubricants ensures low-friction and maintenance-free operation - without any external lubrication.
iglidur i.Sense plain bearings indicate their wear status early. If a bearing needs to be changed, the system is informed about it.
The SG03 felt seal prevents the ingress of dirt and dust in the bearing and protects the bearing and the shaft against wear and tear and premature failure.
We carry out tests so that you don't have to. Find out how our iglidur® polymer plain bearings are tested in the largest test laboratory in the industry. We also carry out individual customer tests here.
What are iglidur materials actually made of? What is behind the self-lubrication effect? Learn more about the functionality of iglidur plain bearings.
Find out how igus do their bit to protect resources and the environment with high-performance plastics.
