As part of the 30 year iglidur® anniversary, we are equipping a compact car with plastic body with iglidur® plain bearing components and sending it on a world tour.
With this action, igus® demonstrates not only the diverse application of its polymer plain bearings worldwide, but also the performance capability of iglidur®. The history of iglidur® plain bearings outlines 30 years of plastics technology – from simple plastic bushings to high-tech machinery components.
Accompany our converted compact car on its travels in the "iglidur® on tour" blog!
The great adventure begins. After endless hours through customs at the New Delhi airport, the car can finally begin its tour along the Indian roads. More than 5000 kilometres were covered from New Delhi in the north to Bangalore in the south, visiting over 80 customers.
The tour of China presented us with the first test of patience: The approval from Beijing came only a few hours before the start. The route led from Shanghai to Quingdao on the Chinese Sea to Beijing and back again. Also more than 5000 km.
South Korea was the first country where our car could be presented without complications in record time. So there was enough time to drive through the length and breadth of the country for more than 3,300 kilometres. From the border with North Korea through Seoul, the city of millions, up to the southern tip of the South China Sea.
Although Taiwan is the smallest country on our world tour, our small car has nevertheless driven over 2700 km. On the way to the igus® customers, it went through thick rain forests and green rice fields, over more than 3,000-m-high mountain passes and through ultramodern cities. The iglidur® bearings operate without problems in tropical conditions with over 30 degrees and extreme humidity.
Japan was the last and the easternmost leg of our world tour in Asia. Our small car drove about 5200 km on the island nation. Typical to Japan: The tour was not only well planned in detail by the Japanese colleagues, the visits to the customers were punctual to the minute and also successful. After the complicated approval process, it went from the mega city of Tokyo up to the southernmost tip of Japan and passing along the famous Mount Fuji back to the north in the city of Sendai, which was hit by a tsunami very hard in 2011. Here, an amount for every kilometre covered was donated to an organisation helping affected children after the disaster.
Our car is in South America, more specifically arrives in Brazil just in time for the World Cup. In addition to many emotional football experiences in the mega cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the tour went on to meet many customers. From the tropical north to the cold and wintry south at the border with Argentina. The enormous distances with sometimes extremely difficult road conditions were mastered by our car without problems. At the end over 6000 km were driven, and thereby a children's hospital at the headquarters of igus® Brazil in Jundai could also rejoice about a great donation of € 1 for every kilometre.
At present, the small car is touring the United States.
Weight (7x lighter than metals)
Low-priced
Customised shape
Noise-free operation
Simple and captive assembly
Low bearing clearance due to tolerance compensation for KTL painting
Tolerance compensation for KTL painting
Runs on simple cold extrusion parts/pipes
Lubrication-free
Resistant to corrosion
Also runs on cold extruded parts
Low bearing clearance due to tolerance compensation for KTL painting
Simple and captive assembly
High compressive strength
Lubrication-free
No rattling
Noise-free operation
Easy installation
Lubrication-free
Rattle-free
Noise dampening
Tolerance compensation due to radial camber
Lubrication-free
Also runs against fibre-reinforced plastics
Low bearing play
Pleasant haptics
Lubrication-free
Lubrication-free
Good wear resistance
Noise-free operation
Easy installation
Lubrication-free
Resistant to corrosion
Insensitive to dirt
Media-resistant
High alternate bending strength
Superior price/performance ratio
Lubrication-free
Plastic shafts possible
Media-resistant
No contact corrosion
Low-priced
Vibration-damping
Resistant to corrosion
Wear-resistance at high frequency pivot motions
Statement by Markus Feth, Head of Sector Management – Automobile Industry Bearing Technology at igus®, in response to the question: what bearings are coming along for the trip around the world? (from developmentscout.com) (German)