Apiro gearbox made of plastic and zinc die-casting combines stability and flexibility with freedom from maintenance

The switch from classic metal gearboxes to worm gear screw jacks made of high-performance plastic from the drygear Apiro series promises several advantages: reduced costs, lower weight and no need for lubrication. However, many design engineers were not able to make this transition because the operating environments were too harsh and demanding. With the drygear Apiro HD, igus is now presenting a hybrid solution that closes precisely this gap. The worm gear is still made of lubrication-free tribopolymers. A zinc die-casting housing provides the necessary robustness.

There are some simple adjustment tasks for which metal gearboxes are oversized, too heavy, too maintenance-intensive and often too expensive. One alternative here is the modular gearbox system Apiro from igus. Design engineers can use its joints, drive units and gearboxes, most of which are made of high-performance plastics, to build lightweight, cost-effective and lubrication-free automation solutions, such as simple pusher systems in material handling or format adjustment systems in the food and beverage industry. “However, we have often received feedback from interested design engineers that they fear the gearboxes could be damaged in more demanding applications, e.g. by impacts from the conveyed goods,” says Steffen Schack, Head of Sales for drygear Gear and Gearbox Technology at igus. “We have therefore produced a zinc die-casting housing for a frequently used model, the Apiro worm gear screw jack, so that it is now also suitable for harsher environmental conditions.”

Load of up to 70kg

The new zinc die-casting housing has increased the load capacity of the gearbox. The more rigid housing material allows a mechanical load of up to 70kg and a dynamic load of the gearbox of up to 25kg. “With the new housing, we are responding to the increased requirements in format adjustment and thus also safeguarding the function against mechanical impacts,” says Dr Judith Merz, Head of the drygear Gear and Gearbox Technology division at igus. Zinc die-casting is also more cost-effective to produce than aluminium or steel. The material is characterised by its high strength and corrosion resistance. Thanks to its low melting point, zinc is very easy to process and permits particularly precise, dimensionally accurate production. This reduces both the energy requirement and the effort required for post-processing. The plastic worm gear with a 4:1 ratio continues to operate inside this hybrid version, so that it remains free from lubrication and maintenance. “We have thus created a hybrid that is particularly robust and economical at the same time,” summarises Merz.

Find out more about the Apiro HD at: drygear® Apiro® Heavy Duty