Manufacturing Machinery World January 2024

NEW PRODUCTS – NEW PRODUCTS – NEW PRODUCTS
HEAVY LOAD BEARINGS NOW POSSIBLE AS
TWO-COMPONENT, INJECTION-MOULDED BEARINGS
iglidur Q3E plain bearings, now
manufactured by injection moulding, ensure
lubrication-free maximum load capacity
performance, made using efficient highvolume
production
An important industry first for the
construction and agricultural machinery
industries: For the first time igus has found a
way to manufacture heavy-duty bearings
made from two components of highperformance
plastic, using the cost-effective
injection moulding process. Until now, a
plastic-based multi-layer structure was only
possible using a winding which is more
expensive for mass production.
When an excavator bucket supporting
hundreds of kilograms of sand moves,
enormous loads act on bearing points –
loads that plastics specialist igus has so far
met mainly with igutex series plain
bearings. These bearings are made of more
than one material in a winding process.
With integrated solid lubricants, the inner
layer ensures low-friction, dry running. The
outer layer provides the enormous strength.
"Now we have succeeded in producing a
multi-layer structure using injection
moulding and still combining materials
with complementary properties," says Rob
Dumayne, drytech director at igus UK.
The result is the iglidur Q3E series.
"Thanks to the new technology, we can now
manufacture multi-component heavy-duty
bearings in volume series using very costeffective
injection moulding," he adds.
THE CHALLENGE: MOULDING
AND FUSING TWO MATERIALS IN
A SINGLE OPERATION
The new iglidur Q3E material is the result
of intensive cooperation between igus’
Material Development division and
specialists from the company’s
toolmaking department. "When
developing iglidur Q3E, we had the goal
of developing a multi-part structure
similar to the igutex series, with the highperformance
plastic iglidur Q3 for a
lubrication-free optimised core, and a
specially reinforced polymer for the
mechanically high-strength shell,"
explains Dumayne. The biggest challenge
was to handle the two different materials
in the injection moulding process in such a
way that two components join as one,
while combining the advantages of both
materials. "We succeeded with this in the
multi-component injection moulding
process with correspondingly complex
and sophisticated injection moulds."
LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY PLUS
CONVINCING SLIDING
PROPERTIES
The plain bearings made of iglidur Q3E are
suitable for heavy-duty applications in which
bearings made of metal or fibre composite
bushings are traditionally used and where
cost savings can be achieved, including the
construction and agricultural machinery
industries. The bearings’ maximum dynamic
surface pressure is 75 MPa. "This means that
we can cover many heavy-duty applications
with iglidur Q3E," says Dumayne. The
decisive advantage is that the new bearings
do not require any lubricating grease.
Microscopic solid lubricants are integrated
into the polymer of the inner layer, and are
slowly, continuously released during the
lifetime of the bearing. "Particularly in the
maintenance of construction and agricultural
machinery, lubricating the bearing points is
one of the most complex tasks," Dumayne
adds. "By switching to iglidur Q3E or igutex,
users of this big, heavy plant can save
maintenance costs and increase the service
life of their machines. Time and again,
neglected lubrication of classic metal
bearings leads to expensive and sometimes
catastrophic damage to shafts and plain
bearings."
www.press.igus.co.uk
Manufacturing Machinery World, January 2024 17