Plain bearings for construction machines

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Lubricated plain bearings: is this necessary?
We make your bearing points lubrication-free.

Construction machines have a tough job: they have to operate reliably in every work environment and in all weather conditions. Moving machine elements are exposed to high loads and extreme environmental influences. Their only protection: lubrication. To ensure this, dozens of lubrication points on the machines have to be supplied manually with expensive lubrication systems. But does that have to be?

Free white paper

Our white paper "Important success factors for lubrication-free bearing positions in construction machinery" covers the following topics:

Important functions of lubrication in plain bearings
Reasons for switching to lubrication-free plain bearings
Differentiation: lubrication-free iglidur® plain bearings vs. lubricated metallic bearings
How self-lubricating plain bearings work
This must be taken into account when changing to dry-running plain bearings

Download for free now

White paper preview

Go to the plain bearings shop

greased pivot

Loss lubrication: it does not have to be

Many construction machine bearing points are protected from environmental influences and wear by so-called "loss lubrication" systems. These continuously press lubricating grease from the machine's interior to the outside.

Therefore lubricants can have an affect on all environments. Strict regulations make the choice of the right grease more complex and, above all, cost-intensive.

greasegun

Maintenance: is not necessarily required

Correct lubrication costs time and money. Every day, lubricating the numerous lubrication points of a typical chain excavator takes between 30 to 60 minutes.

Furthermore, inadequate or irregular lubrication can lead to expensive breakdowns. The work requires skilled staff, and often takes place under difficult conditions.

Talk to an iglidur® expert

igus® application expert Uwe Sund provides information and answers questions

In this interview, Uwe Sund talks about the growing trend towards lubrication-and maintenance-free bearings in construction machinery. Hardly surprising, since lubrication-free plain bearings reduce maintenance effort and lubricant costs. In order to make bearing points in construction machinery maintenance-free and significantly increase their service life, a few things have to be considered. You can find out what these are in the video.

Pulley module for excavator

iglidur plain bearings in use

Pulley module for excavator

Ets Payant, a French company, produces a pulley module that is attached under an excavator boom and moves earth out of pits that are up to 65 metres deep. All components must withstand weather conditions, dust and strong impacts.

Track vehicle with lifting platform

iglidur plain bearings in use

Track vehicle

Transporting drill assemblies, cranes, lifting platforms and excavators through tough terrain is the task of the PowerBully track vehicle made by Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, based in Laupheim. All components must be absolutely reliable and able to handle trips through mud and mire. There must be no failures, since the nearest road is often kilometres away.

Gripper shovel with iglidur plain bearings

iglidur plain bearings in use

Gripper shovel

"The polymer bearings are about 40 per cent more cost-effective. They require no lubrication and their mass is less than that of the previously installed composite bearings."

Roland Georgi, Design Engineer at L&K

Height-adjustable driver's cab with iglidur plain bearings

iglidur plain bearings in use

Height-adjustable driver's cab

"Here, we previously used brass bushings [...] The bearings from igus, however, have an unbeatable price and outpaced brass in the test."

Ali Gülyaz, Design Engineer at Sennebogen

Oscillating axle with iglidur plain bearings and thrust washers

iglidur plain bearings in use

Oscillating axle for semi-trailers

A central lubrication system would increase production costs. So the design engineers were looking for an alternative that requires no additional lubricants. Now they use lubrication- and maintenance-free iglidur G plain bearings and igutex TX1 thrust washers.

Foot pedal with iglidur plain bearings

iglidur plain bearings in use

Foot pedals

"We have successfully tested the pedals with millions of actuations to ensure years of trouble-free operation."

Michael Stoffers, Engineering Manager Mechanical Design, Sensata Technologies GmbH

Drill with iglidur plain bearings

iglidur plain bearings in use

Civil engineering drilling device

To ensure this drilling device works even in dirty and moist environments, the design engineers opted for 16 robust and lubrication-free iglidur bearings.

iglidur® - lubrication-free bearing technology for construction machinery

Plastic that keeps its promise

One of the many successful laboratory and field tests:
igus high-load test rig, different bearings with a load of 60N/mm² and a 50° swivel movement of 0.01m/s.

Wear rate in µm/km running performance
Lubricated bronze, galvanised on steel. 652.3µm/km. High shaft wear. Test ended prematurely after 10,000 cycles due to irregular operation.
Lubricated steel bearings, hard-chromed on steel. 45.7µm/km. High shaft wear. Test ended prematurely after 75,000 cycles due to irregular operation.
iglidur® Q2 bushing, dry hard-chromed on steel. 19.4µm/km. No running marks after 100,000 cycles.
igutex TX1 bearing, dry hard-chromed on steel. 66.4µm/km. Slight running marks, no measurable damage.

high load test results

iglidur® slide bearings

lubrication-free and robust for construction machinery

iglidur® bearings are made of highly wear-resistant and friction-optimised iglidur® plastics. More than 60 different materials were specifically developed for their particular application areas. They are:

Optimised for use without lubrication
Resistant to loads of up to 120 MPa (N/mm²)
Particularly wear-resistant

Thanks to standardised testing, the service life of the materials can be calculated in advance depending on individual application parameters. That way, the most suitable material can be determined for each application even before the field test.

Find out more about iglidur® bearings

iglidur Q2 plain bearings

igutex TX2 plain bearings

The most popular iglidur® products for construction machinery

igutex TX2 - new composite fibre made of high-strength woven fabric

The new igutex TX2 bearings were developed for use in particularly heavily loaded applications. The high-strength, wound structure with integrated solid lubricants ensures low-friction and maintenance-free operation - without any external lubrication.

iglidur i.Sense plain bearings

The most popular iglidur® products for construction machinery

iglidur i.Sense - only replace, when you really have to

iglidur i.Sense plain bearings indicate their wear status early. If a bearing needs to be changed, the system is informed about it.

iglidur® SG03 plain bearings

The most popular iglidur® products for construction machinery

iglidur SG03 plain bearings with felt seals

The SG03 felt seal prevents the ingress of dirt and dust in the bearing and protects the bearing and the shaft against wear and tear and premature failure.

iglidur Q2 plain bearings

The most popular iglidur® products for construction machinery

iglidur® Q2 - the durable heavy-duty bearing

iglidur® Q2 plain bearings represent high load capacities and good abrasion resistance at high loads. The price-performance ratio is excellent. Solid lubricants reduce the coefficient of friction and improve the resistance to wear, which was improved compared to other iglidur® plain bearings, especially for heavily loaded pivoting applications.

igutex TX1 plain bearing

The most popular iglidur® products for construction machinery

igutex TX1 - the heavy-duty bearing up to 200MPa

igutex TX1 plain bearings represent very high load capacity with high radial loads and good abrasion resistance. The special design ensures high dimensional stability due to the long-fibre winding and solid lubricants and this ensures that a lubrication and maintenance-free operation is possible. High dirt and media resistance complete the specification profile.

Largest test laboratory in the industry

Test laboratory with test rigs for plain bearings

We carry out tests so that you don't have to. Find out how our iglidur® polymer plain bearings are tested in the largest test laboratory in the industry. We also carry out individual customer tests here.

Test laboratory for plain bearings

What is iglidur?

Plain bearings under scrutiny

What are iglidur materials actually made of? What is behind the self-lubrication effect? Learn more about the functionality of iglidur plain bearings.

iglidur materials under scrutiny

Sustainability

Sustainability

Find out how igus do their bit to protect resources and the environment with high-performance plastics.

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