Extra-strong plain bearings in oscillating axle for semi-trailers

What was needed:
Plain bearings with and without flange and thrust washers for the swing axle

Requirements:
High load capacity, corrosion resistance, weather resistance, minimum maintenance requirements

Sector:
Commercial vehicles

Success for the customer:
Lubrication-free bearing points that make maintenance easier for the end customer.

Problem:

The swing axle allows the wheel pressure to be evenly distributed on the road, regardless of lateral and longitudinal unevenness. The design engineers were looking for suitable plain bearings and thrust washers for the swing axle joints. Although the main load is absorbed by a hydraulic cylinder, the bearings in the longitudinal and transverse axles are exposed to high forces resulting from the tare weight of the semi-trailer and the load being transported.

In addition to the high load capacity, there are further challenges: unlike typical lorry trailers, semi-trailers with these swing axles are sometimes exposed to the weather for months on end. Regular lubrication would be difficult to manage given the large number of bearing points. The use of a centralised lubrication system would increase production costs, while manual lubrication of each individual joint would be extremely time-consuming and unattractive for the end customer. The originally envisaged solution of using bronze bearings did not fulfil the requirements package of high load capacity, weather resistance and minimal maintenance.

Solution:

Demarko had already had good experience with motion plastic from igus® in less demanding applications. And the igus® support team also quickly had the right bearings ready for the swing axle: In addition to plain bearings with and without flanges and thrust washers made of the all-round material iglidur ® G, our igutex® TX1 fibre composite plain bearings are the perfect solution. The TX1-bearing can withstand static loads of up to 200 MPa and dynamic loads of up to 140 MPa trade show, are wear-resistant, dimensionally stable and resistant to media. Like all our plain bearings, they are corrosion-free and do not require external lubrication thanks to the solid lubricants embedded in the material.

By using igus® catalogue solutions and dispensing with additional lubrication, it was possible to reduce the production and maintenance costs of the semi-trailer. Another major advantage is the rapid access to spare parts from igus® in almost every country in which Demarko has customers.