Plain bearings in heavy-duty applications

In comparison: lubricated metal bearings and self-lubricating igutex® plain bearings

Heavy-duty test rig for plain bearings

Test parameter

Overview of the test results

Shaft and steel bearing

Steel bearing 16MnCr5, hardened

  • Lubricated every 4 hours (unloaded condition)
  • Breakage after approx. 10,000 cycles
  • Massive shaft wear
Shaft and bronze bearing

Bronze bearing

  • Lubricated every 4 hours (unloaded condition)
  • Breakage after approx. 10,000 cycles
  • Massive bearing wear
Shaft and metal-polymer bearing

Metal-polymer bearing

  • Lubricated every 4 hours (unloaded condition)
  • 50,000 cycles achieved
  • Massive bearing and shaft wear
Shaft and igutex fibre composite bearings

<br>igus igutex TX1 plain bearing

  • Tested in dry operation
  • 50,000 cycles achieved
  • Low wear
  • Best result in the test

iglidur® and igutex® plain bearings in the wear test with different loads

Graph 1

Graph 2

Graph 3

Further information on the lubrication-free operation of heavy-duty storage points

White paper preview
  • Important functions of lubrication in plain bearings
  • Reasons for switching to lubrication-free plain bearings
  • Differentiation: lubrication-free iglidur® plain bearings vs. lubricated metallic bearings
  • Functionality of self-lubricating plain bearings
  • What to consider when switching to dry-running plain bearings
  • Discussions with our development experts
  • Material overview of heavy-duty plain bearings
  • How iglidur® and igutex® materials work
  • lubrication - a challenge for the industry
  • Sustainable product development
  • Application examples from practice
Fact sheet preview
Fact sheet preview
Fact sheet preview
Fact sheet preview
Fact sheet preview

Factsheet - Mounting igutex® plain bearings

Different lubrication methods: Advantages and requirements

Lubrication-free

Lubrication-free bearing points
Lubrication-free bearing points

igus advantages

  • Longer service life
  • No failure due to insufficient lubrication
  • Lower shaft quality requirements
  • Lower price
  • No maintenance required
  • No lubrication system required (lubrication holes, grooves, cable, grease gun, centralised lubrication)
  • No grease discharge into the environment

Requirements

  • Corrosion-protected shaft/receptacle required
  • Depending on the operating conditions, a seal may be useful to protect the system from massive ingress of dirt.

Initial lubrication

Initial bearing point lubrication
Initial bearing point lubrication

igus advantages

  • Longer service life
  • No failure due to insufficient lubrication
  • Lower shaft quality requirements
  • Lower price
  • No maintenance effort
  • (Almost) no grease discharge into the environment

Requirements

  • Effort for one-off lubrication of shaft and mount during assembly
  • A seal is useful to ensure that the grease applied once remains in the system for the duration of operation

Regular lubrication

Periodic bearing point lubrication
Periodic bearing point lubrication

igus advantages

  • Longer service life
  • No failure due to insufficient lubrication
  • Lower shaft quality requirements
  • Lower price
  • Reduced maintenance costs possible due to extended intervals

Requirements

  • Effort for lubrication
  • Complete lubrication system (lubrication holes, grooves, cable, grease gun, centralised lubrication)
  • Regular maintenance schedule (provision of lubricant, personnel)

Our materials for lubrication-free heavy-duty applications

iglidur Q
iglidur Q2
iglidur Q3E
igutex TX1 fibre composite bearings
igutex TX2 fibre composite bearings
igutex TX3 fibre composite bearings

References

All-terrain vehicle

Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG

Demarko application

Demarko

A-frame application

Ship & Yacht Engineering Ltd.

Thaler application

Thaler GmbH & Co. KG

Consulting

I look forward to answering your questions

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