Schaeffler was presented with a MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award by MunichExpo for the second time. This year, Schaeffler won the Gold Award in the “Product” category for the new FAG spindle bearings of series VCM made from high-performance Vacrodur rolling bearing steel.



The outstanding features of VCM bearings are the thermally robust design that is specifically matched to the requirements of motor spindles, and the bearing rings made from the new high-performance Vacrodur rolling bearing steel that is manufactured using powder-metallurgic methods. The extraordinarily high mechanical and thermal load carrying capacity of Vacrodur steel allows the performance and rating life of spindle bearings and therefore the productivity of machine tools to be significantly increased.

The official award ceremony for the MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award took place on October 17, 2017 at the eMOVE360° Europe 2017, an international trade show for mobility 4.0, at the Munich trade show center. This new trade show concept includes all important aspects of mobility – electric mobility, autonomous driving, materials & engineering, and urban & mobile design. A total of 18 companies and organizations were nominated as finalists in the categories “Material”, “Product”, “Surface & Technology”, “CO2 Efficiency”, and the special category “Student”.

According to the expert jury, the entries clearly demonstrated a trend: Intelligent manufacturing technologies and processes are becoming increasingly important. The chairman of the jury, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karl Reining from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Forming and Joining Technology at the Landshut University of Applied Sciences, explained: “Experience has shown that real innovation is relatively rare when it comes to materials. However, there are some very promising new approaches for using and processing materials. These areas will become even more important in the future.”