igus has extended its range of iglidur tribological plain bearings for applications with special loads. The materials iglidur M210 and M260 are new and enable a quick changeover from thick-walled metal bearings to plastic bearings without any structural modifications. The advantage of a change is that the bearing points no longer require lubrication and are almost maintenance-free. It offers a significant time and cost advantage, especially in harsh environments in the daily operation of construction, agricultural and municipal machines.

The new polymer plain bearings iglidur M210 and M260 offer wall thicknesses of up to 5mm and inner diameters of 20, 25, 30, 40, 50 and 60mm. They are particularly suitable for applications with pivoting movements in the medium load range from 20N/mm2, where a quick replacement of thick-walled metal bushings is required without structural modifications. The materials differ slightly but display their different strengths when in interaction with various shafts. 

Less maintenance and cleaning effort, more environmental protection

The switch from metal to polymer bearings means significant cost and time savings, especially for machines and vehicles with many bearing points as lubrication is no longer required. The plain tribological bearings M210 and M260 are self-lubricating. The solid lubricants ensure low friction and dry operation and significantly reduce cleaning. Because without lubricants, dirt and dust do not have a chance to stick. Another advantage: As no lubricants enter the environment, this allows users to contribute to environmental protection. Additionally, the energy consumption of machines and systems is reduced because plastic bearings are lighter than metal bearings.  

Robust and lightweight at the same time

To guarantee sufficient robustness of the iglidur M210 and M260 plain bearings, the material experts at igus work with fibres and fillers. These components strengthen the materials to withstand high surface pressures of up to 40MPa and edge loads even under continuous loads - even at extreme temperatures between -100°C and +140°C. Tests in the in-house igus laboratory prove that the polymer bearings show limited visible wear in pivoting movements at medium loads, even after several thousand cycles.