Long-life plastic bearings avoid risks of explosions

Published: 12 October, 2021

Igus has developed a maintenance-free plastic material for food industry plain bearing applications, that is designed to withstand friction and high temperatures, and to dissipate electrostatic charges, thus reducing the risk of explosions and shocks to operators. In laboratory tests, bearings made from the new iglidur AX500 tribopolymer material, rotating on stainless-steel shafts, exhibited up to three times less wear and tear than bearings based on the earlier A500 material.

The maintenance-free material is aimed, in particular, at sorting and packing applications in food and packaging. It can be used in ovens or bottle-cleaning operations, for example, while its good chemical resistance means that aggressive cleaners will not damage the bearings. Contact with food is not a problem, because the polymer has embedded solid lubricants and needs no extra lubrication. It also complies with EU Regulation 10/2011 on the safety of plastics that come into contact with food. Compared to lubricated stainless-steel bearings, the AX500 plain bearings are not only maintenance-free, but also lighter.

The material’s electrostatic dissipation capabilities ensure, for example, that plastic bags will not stick to each other on packaging lines, and that sparks will not be generated that could lead to explosions in dusty environments.

The new material is available in diameters of 6–20mm as standard, or special dimensions with lead times of a few days.

Igus’ plain bearing material can dissipate electrostatic charges

igus: Twitter