Changing liners the clever way

By OEM Update Editorial June 11, 2018 3:32 pm IST

Unlimited service life of igus’s drylin linear rails thanks to the new exchange solution, a new kind of lubrication-free bearing.

The motion plastics specialist relies on liners made of high-performance polymers to ensure that igus linear guides slide silently and precisely. In order to make changing them even easier in extreme situations, igus has now developed a new replacement bearing. Unlock bearing, push liner out and replace it. The principle of the drylin W Exchange bearing is very simple. With the help of a free mounting tool, the liners can be replaced directly on the linear rail in just a few seconds. The maintenance company is thus able to save time and money.

Previously, if replacement of the lubrication-free bearing liners in a linear guide rail was due, for example in the case of extremely abrasive sand or glass dust, the entire linear carriage had to be pushed off the rail. For linear axes or multiple-axis linear robots with a toothed-belt drive, this meant a lot of assembly work and also machine downtime. igus has therefore developed a durable replacement bearing for its drylin W linear guides. The bearing enables easy replacement directly on the linear rail. As during a pit stop in Formula 1 racing, the replacement bearing can be changed very quickly and without complication, as a result of which downtimes are reduced to a minimum. The bearing, the linear guide or linear axis can therefore be put back into service and be “productive” within just a few seconds. A practical, free tool enables safe installation in no time at all.

Easy linear bearing change without complication
With the help of a simple screwdriver, the side cover of the linear carriage can easily be detached and removed. With the free tool supplied, which the user can also 3D print himself, the liner is pushed out of the carriage and directly removed from the rail. The new bearing made of the wear-resistant and abrasion-resistant high-performance plastic iglidur J200 is then clipped onto the rail and located into the carriage with the mounting tool. The side cover is then placed on the carriage to complete the bearing replacement process. The practical advantages of this are that the rail cannot be damaged and replacement takes place directly on the system. A pin located in the middle of the side cover secures the liner in the carriage. Alternatively, replacement can also be carried out with a screwdriver. On the new liner and in the carriage, igus has provided special recesses for this purpose. The new Exchange bearing can currently be retrofitted for all existing drylin W systems of size 10 such as linear guides, linear axes and linear robots. Further sizes are currently being planned.
For more details, visit www.igus.in