Igus slewing ring and maintenance-free rotary table bearings

Igus slewing ring and Rotary table bearings are characterized by their maintenance-free polymer components. The latest development is a slewing ring bearing made of a Wood-plastic mixture. The integrated sensors isense enables precise monitoring and early detection of wear. In this way, preventive measures can be taken in advance and machine downtimes can be avoided. The article presents the latest developments from Cologne.

Content

• Sustainable slewing ring bearing made of wood and plastic
• Intelligent sliding bearing ring for predictive maintenance
• Divided slewing ring bearing for mounting on fixed shafts
• Robust and maintenance-free rotary table bearings

Sustainable slewing ring bearing made of wood and plastic

June 10.06.2024, XNUMX | Igus presented at the Hannover Messe In 2024, an innovative slewing ring bearing (pictured above) will be released Wood-plastic composite (WPC). With a mix of 50% wood and 50% high-performance plastics, the new PRT slewing ring bearing Iglidur offers an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient solution for industrial applications.

The new slewing ring bearing combines the advantages of wood and plastic and enables lubrication-free, low-maintenance use while maintaining high strength and longevity. The Igus slewing ring consists of a mixture of wood fibers and Iglidur high-performance plastics. The wood content gives the warehouse a natural look and contributes to reduced CO₂-footprint. With only 0,0577 kg CO₂emissions, the warehouse sets a new standard for sustainability in the industry. In comparison, the PRT-02-30-ECO, which already consists of 97% regranulate, has a CO₂-Equivalent of 0,819868 kg.

The introduction of this innovative bearing shows how renewable raw materials can be used effectively in industrial production. “As plastics experts, we are now venturing into the wood sector. Last year we introduced wooden shafts for our linear guides as possible running partners for the first time. This year we are integrating the wood directly into our products,” says Marc Trenkler, product manager at Igus. The bearing has been specially developed for the PRT 02 size and represents a cost-effective alternative to conventional low-cost plastic PRTs, without sacrificing performance.

The new WPC slewing ring bearing is suitable for applications in furniture technology and other areas that require simple adjustments and robust constructions.

Intelligent sliding bearing ring for predictive maintenance

March 22.09.2017, XNUMX | The lubrication and maintenance free Polymer round table bearings (PRT) of Igus are preferably used in systems where great robustness and resilience are required. To ensure that the polymer slewing ring bearing does not fail and the system does not come to an unplanned standstill, the plastics specialist has developed the intelligent “Isense PRT”. This uses a sensor to measure the abrasion of the bearing and indicates if a replacement is required in a timely manner.

In control panels, welding systems, tactical tables or even in chainsaws: there are plain bearing slewing rings that require high reliability - often coupled with high cycle rates and loads. The iglidur Polymer round table bearings (PRT) have radial and axial sliding elements between the Iglidur PRT inner and outer rings of the bearing, which are made of aluminum or stainless steel.

Maintenance-free polymer plain bearings

The maintenance-free ones Sliding elements Made from the high-performance plastic Iglidur J ensure that friction and wear are minimized without the use of lubrication. In the intelligent rotary table bearing Isense PRT.W, a wear sensor mounted in a recess beneath the sliding elements measures the axial lowering of the PRT head ring resulting from abrasion of the plastic sliding elements and passes the information on to the “Icom” communication module.

robotic arm | also as a kit

When compared with a previously determined application-related wear rate, the required replacement can then be displayed in a timely manner via the module. The Communicationsmodul receives the data from the Sensors and sends the information via WLAN to the user's desired devices. This ensures timely replacement without unplanned machine downtime and contributes to increased safety in production.

Under the product family name isense In recent years, the motion plastics specialist has developed various sensors and monitoring modules that make plastic solutions intelligent and make production processes simpler and safer. In addition to the Isense PRT.W, there are also measuring systems for the “Drylin” linear guides, energy chains and cables.

Divided slewing ring bearing for mounting on fixed shafts

June 11.06.2015, XNUMX | Radial-axial bearings are usually completely assembled and screwed axially onto a surface, as is usually the case with polymers Rotary table bearings (PRT) from Igus. Due to a customer request, the Plasticspecialist has now developed a divisible "Iglidur PRT" so that its special construction could be implemented in an uncomplicated manner.

Usually, bearings are slid over a shaft during assembly and then placed. In the case of central or support bearings, however, this is not easily possible because the shaft is already fixed on both sides. An Igus customer had a need to make a rotary table bearing divisible. He wanted the rotary table bearing without much effort assemble in place.

The well-known Iglidur PRTs rotary table bearings have an aluminum inner and outer ring lubrication-free sliding film. This minimizes the friction between the two rings. Igus engineers have now developed a split rotary table bearing for the customer.

"In this new development, the Iglidur PRT was designed in such a way that it can be placed around a pipe or shaft, for example, and then closed back into its ring shape," explains Gerhard Baus, Authorized signatory at Igus. "The movement between the inner and outer ring can then be carried out in the usual way."

Sliding elements in divided rotary table bearings

In contrast to the usual PRTs, the usual ones could not be used for these special solutions Sliding elements used as they would not have stayed in place if the case was split. Instead, the smear-free tribo tape is used in this case Iglidur A160 for use. The self-adhesive film is 0,5 mm thick and can be easily cut to size. Like the sliding elements made from Iglidur J, the tribo-tape is also self-lubricating. It therefore requires no maintenance and is FDA-compliant.

The new design of split polymer rotary table bearings is available on request. So all special application requirements can be met in the design customized be taken into account.

Robust and maintenance-free rotary table bearings

March 31.03.2010, XNUMX | The lubrication and maintenance-free polymer round table bearings from Igus as ready-to-install solutions, ball-bearing rotary tables or slewing rings replace them. The wide range of applications mostly involves pivoting applications. The robust yet light "iglidur PRT" rotary table bearings are corrosion-free. The sliding elements are made from the tribo-optimized special material "iglidur J".

The rotary table bearings run absolutely lubricant and maintenance-free. All housing parts are off Aluminium (there are also V4A stainless steel versions), the mating surfaces of the “iglidur” sliding elements are hard anodized. All connecting screws are made of stainless steel. The rotary table bearings have high rigidity, are easy to assemble, highly wear-resistant and the maintenance-free sliding elements are replaceable.

They exist in seven sizes, either as the robust standard version described (design 01) or as the 200 g lightweight and particularly cost-effective design 02 (here the head rings are made of “iglidur J4” and run directly against the outer ring without lubrication). Hand clamps, drive pins and spacer rings are available as accessories. Special solutions include FDA-compliant rotary table plain bearings (sliding elements made of “iglidur A180”) and highly chemical-resistant rotary tables that can be used up to 180 °C (gliders made of “iglidur H1”).

Round table systems for the Accuracy applications

The range of applications of the lubrication-free Polymer round table bearings is very different. It ranges from clean applications, for example in the Medical Technology or the Measurement Technology to environmental conditions with extreme dirt, such as in foundries. Many of these involve swiveling applications (swivelling forwards, backwards, in intermittent operation) at assembly workstations or internal conveyor systems, such as tactical tables and fixture construction. A majority of these applications are driven manually.

The manufacturer is currently observing a trend towards systems with individual connection options for drives gearing. For this purpose, the Cologne-based company now also offers the 01 design with an attached gear. The rotary table inner diameters are 20 to 300 mm, with the “PRT-01-300” being designed for an axial static load of 15 t.

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