Lubrication-free
Defrosting glaciers and declining fish stocks are just two examples of the effects of climate change in Alaska. In order to raise awareness of the issue among the population and to promote alternative drives, the Hoepner brothers from Berlin are developing their amphibious vehicle “Urmel”. They want to travel across Alaska with it. In order for Urmel to be able to drive over hill and dale and ice and snow, light and wear-resistant bearings are required. With the support of igus, the young inventors opted for lubrication-free iglidur tribo-polymers.
For the bearing of pivoting and rotary applications, igus introduces iglidur J3, a lubrication-free and long-lasting tribo-polymer. The endurance runner convinces, above all, with its proven, very low coefficient of friction. As the yellowish material did not always match the design concept of the user, igus has now further developed the tried-and-tested tribo-polymer into the black iglidur J3B. But igus always has the right material for other applications as well. The intuitively operated iglidur online expert system helps with the selection.
Due to the co-operation between Ultimaker and igus, the processing of the iglidur tribo-filaments in the Ultimaker 3D printers has become a lot easier. Neither special knowledge nor programming expertise is required to produce lubrication-free, low-wear components. The extensive material tests and the open source software “Cura” make this possible.
Using the new lubrication-free, lightweight and durable drylin NT-60 telescopic rail from igus, drawers with a length of up to 2,000 millimetres can be operated quietly in medical systems or laboratory automation. For this, igus relies entirely on wear-resistant and easy-to-clean iglidur tribo-polymers for the sliding elements.
For the designers of Surf Evolution, the metallic bearings proved to be too maintenance-intensive and too expensive in their novel surf machines. Looking for an alternative, they quickly came across the motion plastics from igus. And the design engineers were thrilled, because the retrofitting significantly reduced the maintenance and saved 70 per cent in costs.
According to the United Nations, world population will grow to 9.7 billion by 2050. In particular, the population of the cities will increase significantly. Vertical farming is considered a promising alternative to conventional methods to produce food for the growing number of urban dwellers, reliably and cost-effectively. In these vertical farms, motion plastics from igus already play a major role in their cost-efficient and reliable operation.
Users rely on ball tables for transducers in roller conveyors and for the transport of sensitive goods. Here igus polymer ball transfer units are used, because they can even move loads up to 500N smoothly and in all directions without any lubricant. To protect both conveyed goods and people from uncontrolled static electricity discharge, igus has now developed the tribo-polymer xirodur F182 for its ball transfer units. The new material is extremely durable and has proved its electrostatic conductivity in tests.
Simple, precise, fast processes: these are the requirements of Cartesian robots. They are used for such things as pick-and-place applications, sorting systems and medical technology. igus has now developed a linear and room linear robot for large workspaces. The two new kinematics systems allow users to move up to five kilogrammes. Both linear robots are available directly from stock. They can also be customised to suit the customer application in question – no minimum order quantity.
In order to move doors, monitors or even panels, users rely on lateral installation of the linear systems. To enable the linear guides to absorb these lateral forces better, igus has now developed a new hybrid linear system. Two hybrid bearings provide low-friction adjustment with polymer rollers and tribo-polymer slide elements. Combined with an easily fit rail adapted to the new roller bearings, igus offers a cost-effective and visually appealing complete solution.
igus has developed a new self-lubricating, two-component bearing, iglide Q2E, that can withstand the extreme conditions frequently found in agricultural machines, utility vehicles, offshore installations and other demanding environments.