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Igus pits plastic versus metal in front-loader endurance test

By Igus on

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In its own test laboratory, igus has commissioned a system for testing especially high loads in machine applications found in the agricultural or construction industries. The front loader, which moves 24/7, is located outdoors and therefore exposed to all the elements. This enables igus to compare different bearing combinations in order to find the best products for the respective heavy-duty application.

The test rig completes 4 cycles per minute, whereby the resulting speed depends on the pivoting angle of the respective bearing point. Each test lasts for around two weeks. Daily visual inspections ensure that the front loader remains undamaged should a bearing point fail.

“These tests enable us to calculate the service life of the products precisely,” explains Robert Dumayne dry-tech director at igus. “However, it is not just on our test rig where our products are in use. They have been in use in the lifting arms of F.X.S. Sauerburger’s wheeled loader for more than ten years.”

Watch the test rig camera live. In the current set-up, the surface pressure is between 22 and 29.5 MPa, depending on the bearing point (29.5 MPa approximately corresponds to a load of 1.2 metric tons on a bearing with a diameter of 20 mm and a length of 20 mm). In order to find the optimum bearing and shaft combination or the most suitable iglidur tribopolymer material, the load varies from 250 to up to 500 kg.

Igus

Igus is the largest producer of reinforced plastic energy chains and injection-moulded polymer bearings. The range of polymer bearings includes Iglidur plain, Igubal spherical and Drylin linear bearings. They offer an excellent price-to-life relationship and are developed under the toughest conditions. They are oil, maintenance and lubrication free, low wear, resistant to dirt and dust, corrosion free and simple to fit. Igus also has the data to precisely predict the lifetime of these bearings within a specific application.

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Igus is the largest producer of reinforced plastic energy chains and injection-moulded polymer bearings. The range of polymer bearings includes Iglidur plain, Igubal spherical and Drylin linear bearings. They offer an excellent price-to-life relationship and are developed under the toughest conditions. They are oil, maintenance and lubrication free, low wear, resistant to dirt and dust, corrosion free and simple to fit. Igus also has the data to precisely predict the lifetime of these bearings within a specific application.

Energy chains are the umbilical cord of modern machines. They minimise downtime and protect, support and extend the service life of cables and hoses. The broad range incorporates more than 30,000 innovative, low-cost products. From the smallest ‘micro’ chain to the largest chain in the world, the E4.350, Igus energy chains are capable of long and short travel distances at high speeds in all axes.

Igus also has its own cable series, Chainflex, specially designed with energy chains in mind. They are highly flexible cables, offering a long service life and very small bending radii. A wide range is available, from small signal cables to large power cables, high-speed data cables and glass fibre-optic cables.

The company’s energy chains and Chainlflex cables can be delivered as a fully harnessed and pre-assembled Readychain system, cutting purchasing, warehousing and installation costs.

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