Manufacturing Machinery World April 2024

NEW PRODUCTS – NEW PRODUCTS – NEW PRODUCTS
SMART FLANGE BEARINGS FROM IGUS HELP
PREVENT MACHINE FAILURE
New generation of igubal spherical plain
bearings are equipped with a predictive
maintenance system
Costly machine failures due to undetected
defects in demanding applications should soon
be made redundant, thanks to a new generation
of two- and four-hole flange bearings with
“smart” features. The lubrication-free highperformance
plastic bearings are equipped with
miniature wireless sensors that enable
condition monitoring and aid predictive
maintenance.
A maintenance technician is working on, for
example, a conveyor belt in a bottling factory.
His phone app notifies him that a flange bearing
is approaching its wear limit.
While previously there was a risk that this
would go undetected and lead to an expensive
system failure, today the technician can spot the
issue and replace the bearing during the
production break. “This scenario is no longer
science fiction. As part of our smart plastics
range, we are gradually equipping plain
bearings made of high-performance plastic with
networked sensors,” says Rob Dumayne, drytech
director at igus. "Our two- and four-hole
flange bearings of the igubal series can now also
enable condition monitoring and predictive
maintenance so as to avoid unforeseen
damage."
Flange bearings transmit their
status by radio
How do the new “Industry 4.0” connected
bearings work?
igus integrates an abrasion sensor into the
To accommodate the diverse needs of the
marketplace, Starrag Heckert has now
introduced its new H Compact Series of
horizontal machining centres. The benefits of
horizontal machining centres can sometimes be
overshadowed by the sizeable footprint of the
machines in comparison to their vertical
counterparts - with the H Compact Series,
Starrag Heckert delivers the benefits of a
horizontal with a compact footprint that will
appeal to manufacturers.
Looking at the merits of the new H Compact
machines, Lee Scott from Starrag says: “The
new machines are called ‘Compact’ as they have
a very compact size. They are horizontal
machines which denote the ‘H’ and they are
fitted with a trunnion table with 5-axis
capability that provides an impressive X-axis
range. We can also incorporate a high-speed
table on the machine for turning - this
configuration gives us the ‘T’ range. In its basic
guise, it is a twin pallet horizontal machining
centre with a monobloc mineral cast material
base that is very vibration-absorbent and also
very stiff. The machine design is like a giant
bathtub where all the chips fall straight out of
the work area and take all of the heat with them.
polymer spherical bearing, a thin circuit board,
plus a battery for power supply without cables.
This allows the bearing to continue to move
freely for spherical compensation. As the
bearing wears, the traces of the board are
interrupted. When the electronics lose the signal
of a trace, they know that the wear has reached
a certain level. The sensor emits a digital signal
over a Long Range Network (LoRa), a wireless
standard for the Internet of Things that is
known for its energy efficiency. This is received
by the i.Cee control cabinet module, which now
takes over the data evaluation. The smart
bearing software now knows that the trace is
worn out and calculates the percentage of
abrasion.
Over time, the sensor wears out layer by
layer, parallel to the running surface of the
bearing. And it regularly emits signals that
allows the control to work out the bearing's
condition. Users can see the remaining service
The column then sits on the base with linear
rails and a direct measuring system across the
whole of the machine that delivers exceptional
accuracy and optimal cutting conditions.”
The machine column also has positive
leveraged ratios that are credited to maximum
guideway distances and also weight
compensation that improves performance,
accuracy and efficiency of the Y-axis that is
driven by ball screws. Alluding to the pallet
system on the new series, Lee says: “It's a twin
pallet machine and the surface of the pallets are
ground, so the interfaces are perfect for the
fixturing, whether it be on a trunnion or a
standard B-axis. Outside of the machine, we
then have the setup station. So, whilst the first
pallet is working inside the machining area, the
second pallet is either loaded by a robot, an
FMS or an operator. After all, if the spindle isn’t
life and when a maintenance call is due on a
web-based dashboard, that they can see the
bearing’s status from anywhere in the world
with a PC, tablet or smartphone.
Luxembourg's state-owned railway
company becomes the first pilot customer for
smart flange bearings.
The new flange bearings are in the prototype
phase, and they have already convinced one
pilot customer: the Société National des
Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL).
Luxembourg's state-owned railway
company operates a 200-metre-long car wash
that cleans local and long-distance trains every
day. In the past, gearbox malfunctions in the
wash wagon repeatedly led to costly system
failures. For this reason, CFL has abandoned
lubricated standard ball bearings and instead
installed the cross-linked spherical bearings
from igus in the UC bearing housings.
The advantage: These high-performance,
spherical bearings are corrosion-free, chemicalresistant
and, with integrated solid lubricants,
enable low-friction and maintenance-free dry
running. "The other bearings need to be
lubricated every few weeks, which is timeconsuming,"
says CFL maintenance manager,
Mike Feinen. "So we've now ticked off this
maintenance snag." Rob Dumayne adds: "The
networking of these smart bearings is the icing
on the cake. Thanks to continuous condition
monitoring, CFL can prevent failures, plan
maintenance interventions and make full use of
the service life of the polymer bearings."
https://www.igus.co.uk/info/smartplastics-train-washing
STARRAG PACKS A HIGH-END HMC INTO A SMALL FOOTPRINT
cutting, the machine isn’t making any money.”
As you would expect from Starrag, the
machine has a complete range of spindles
available. This includes a 30,000rpm spindle
offering for cutting aluminium, high-torque or
geared spindles for machining titanium as well
as quill spindles for extended reach - there is a
spindle for every application. Referring to the
tool magazines that feed the spindle, Lee says:
“The tool magazines start with a single
magazine, and we can also run a parallel system
with up to a total of 450 tools on this machine
frame. You also have to get rid of the chips. This
machine can create huge volumes of aluminium
swarf that have to go through the machine and
out to a swarf system, here the machine frame
design has been optimised to remove chips
from the work area at high speed.”
As an automation-friendly solution, the new
H Compact Series caters for customers with a
wide range of options and interfaces to present
maximum flexibility. Together with systems
partners like Fastems, Starrag can offer FPC and
FPT modules as well as integration with robots,
gantry loading cells and interlinking machines
from a single source.
www.starrag.com
40 Manufacturing Machinery World, April 2024