Plain bearings are often subject to extreme conditions such as heavy loads in construction machines, agricultural equipment, utility vehicles and offshore installations. To address this requirement, igus has upgraded their lubrication-free two-component bearing iglidur Q2E. The iglidur Q2 material has been tested to withstand a high degree of wear, while a hard polymer shell protects the heavy-duty bearing.

Dirt, impact and high edge loads

Bearings in construction equipment, agricultural machines and offshore installations often have to cope with extreme conditions, calling for the use of durable materials and dirt-resistant components. igus has now upgraded their iglidur Q2E heavy-duty bearings for exactly such scenarios.

Treotham is expanding its range of bearings for heavy-duty applications and closes the gap between existing bearings and solutions made of metal and composites. The bearing consists of high-performance plastics and is, therefore, completely lubrication- and corrosion-free. The absence of lubrication allows maintenance-free operation of the bearing points and prevents machine failures from lack of lubrication. Expensive central lubrication systems are no longer necessary. Dirt and impurities can no longer adhere to the bearing points, minimising wear.

In addition, less grease and oil escape into the environment, reducing the annual consumption of over 35 million metric tons of lubricant, as measured by RWTH Aachen University. Also, the injection-moulding method used to manufacture the plain bearings is especially cost-efficient.

The combination is the secret

Two materials in an encapsulated design ensure that the bearing can cope even with the most extreme edge loads. This is because the iglidur Q2E has a hard polymer shell and a tribologically optimised core composed of iglidur Q2 as the material. When used for a plain bearing with a diameter of 20 millimetres, this material is also very dimensionally stable and wear-resistant even under high loads of up to 7 metric tons.

Functioning as a protective sheath, the shell makes the bearing very sturdy and ensures that it has a longer service life. igus has proven this in their own in-house test laboratory. In the swivel test, the material withstood a radial load of 130 MPa. iglidur Q2E is initially available for shaft diameters of 20, 25, 30 and 40mm from Treotham Automation.