The Igubal system provides design engineers with a complete range of self-aligning bearings made of tribo-optimised plastic.

It comprises rod-end bearings, flange, pivoting and pedestal bearings and ball and socket joints.

In many cases, the maintenance-free bearings replace metallic components.

They can reduce weight by 80 per cent and the parts give excellent vibration dampening.

In equipment used by Steag Hamatech (now Singulus AG) to manufacture CDs and DVDs, for example, Igubal rod-end bearings are fitted in a coating module.

Gunter Eisele, responsible for mechanical design at Steag Hamatech, said: 'The components are particularly light and save design space.

'They can run lubricant-free and are extremely wear-resistant.

'The handling of the coating module was also simulated on a test bench.

'It ran for more than two-and-a-half years - around 95 million cycles - and the rod-end bearings still looked like new.' The profile-system manufacturer Pro-Best in Rodelsee, Bavaria, can report similar success, having replaced metallic roller-bearings and ball bearings with plastic bearings.

A packaging line for profiles has Igubal flange and pedestal bearings installed for swivelling and rotating movements as well as plastic rod-end bearings for absorbing tension and pressure.

The system works in three-shift operation five days a week and produces 20 profiles a minute.

Hans Bernreuther, managing director of Pro-Best, said: 'The maintenance-free plastic bearings have proved their worth under extremely rough conditions.

'We produce lots of metal shavings.

'Thick layers of oil and dust are deposited.' A further example of the long service life of the self-aligning bearings can be seen on the premises of Groneweg Maschinenbau, Edewecht.

In a line used to handle bulk goods for packaging processes, Igubal pivoting bearings tolerate aggressive cleaning agents, because the machine is also used in the food industry.

Stefan Groneweg, responsible for buying and development at Groneweg Maschinenbau, said: 'The pivoting bearings are free from contamination, greases and cleaning agents.

'They are also extremely hard-wearing, which means no further costs are incurred.

'Igubal clevis joints have been fitted in fertiliser spreaders made by Rauch Landmaschinen in Sinzheim for more than ten years.' The plastic clevis joints are combined with a KMF hydraulic cylinder in this system.

During the two dynamic tests, comprising 100 hours at -20C and a peak load of 4,000N, Rauch precisely calculated the service life.

The plastic components dampened vibration and were extremely resilient.

The self-adjusting Igubal bearings are easy to fit, adapt to all angular misalignments and can replace metallic components in many cases.

They are suitable for dry use, are contamination-free, can run in liquids and chemicals and resist corrosion.

The application temperature-range is from -30C to +80C.

For pivoting bearings of the dimensional series E, a high-temperature version is available for permanent use at temperatures of up to +200C.

These also absorb very high forces.

The good damping characteristics are due to the plastic material of the two-part or two-part combined bearings, which can absorb vibrations.

The Igubal delivery range comprises more than 800 types ex-stock from batch-size one.

According to the manufacturer, costs can be reduced by up to 50 per cent when these bearings are used.

Igus has about 70 application-examples available on its website.

A new keyword search according to sector and application-case speeds up the search for practical examples.

The user can enter important factors (for example 'corrosion-free', 'low-noise', 'easy to clean' and others).

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