Good combination: iglidur Q2 heavy-duty bearings and hard chrome shafts

August 12, 2013 11:42 am

Bearings are subject to a lot of wear, particularly in high-load oscillating applications in construction, agricultural machinery etc. The series of tests by igus which confirms a very low wear rate for the iglidur Q2 plain bearings in combination with hard chrome-plated shafts from Ovako comes at just the right time.Plastic plain bearings from igus are made of special, self-lubricating plastics. They are suitable for high bearing forces and are thus amongst the most important lubricant- and maintenance-free plain bearings. iglidur polymer plain bearings from igus have been firmly established in heavy-duty applications for a long time, for example their properties can be exploited in construction and agricultural machinery in particular – because the heavy-duty material iglidur Q2 stands out through its extremely high mechanical strength.
And in contrast to metallic bearings, bearing systems with iglidur bearings cannot seize/jam due to “cold welding” the two surfaces get joined at high loads. In addition, the material permits favourably priced bearing solutions when compared with bearings made of conventional materials. The material can cope with a static load of up to 120 MPa and is especially suitable for heavy-duty pivoting applications such as those found in all hydraulic connections. The advantages of igus polymer plain bearings are:
• Maintenance-free dry running• Corrosion resistant• High mechanical strength• Vibration dampening• Insensitive to dust and dirt• Compensate tilting and sagging.
Proof in testsAt igus, wear tests are continually performed on polymer bearings and shafts with a wide range of different materials, because the use of a suitable shaft is decisive for a good wear resistance as it creates the right tribo connection.
Good results were achieved with hard chrome-plated Cromax shafts from the steel manufacturer Ovako. The tests were carried out with 30 MPa. The bearings tested had a diameter of 20 mm and a length of 20 mm. This resulted in a force of 12,000 N, which corresponds to 1.2 tonnes or the weight of a small car. The pivoting/oscillating angle was 60 degrees, and 30 movements per minute were achieved in the test.
Initial lubricated brass bearings served as reference objects. It was noticed that the metallic bearing under similar conditions was seen to elongate/flow, i.e. became wider in the contact area to the shaft. This reaction was not seen in the test with the iglidur Q2 bearing.

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