Durable, maintenance-free plain bearings and linear bearings for production machines

• What was needed: Plain bearing iglidur J, plain bearing iglidur G, linear plain bearings of the RJM/RJMP series, linear plain bearing of the drylin T series, drylin lead screw module of the SLWE-PL series, and drylin W-1660
• Requirements: The high production speed with dynamic and short strokes called for bearings with good wear values and durable materials. Hair and dust in the system required a lubrication-free solution.
• Industry: Mechanical engineering
• Success for the customer: Wöhler Brush Tech GmbH purchases the iglidur material in various material types for linear and plain bearings. The specialist benefits from the lubrication-free and maintenance-free operation of the bearings. The optimised coefficients of friction of the bearings with incorporated lubricant enable a long service life.

Production machines with high bearing requirements
Wöhler Brush Tech GmbH's production machines can also operate at high speeds if the customer requires it. With a system that produces 60 flat brushes per minute, Wöhler holds the unofficial world record for brush production performance. Those who see such a machine in operation notice two things: First, brush manufacture requires a number of coordinated movements, many of which are very dynamic with short strokes. During bearing selection for these movements, not only robust, but also durable materials were required. Second, hair and dust from the cut bristles also clog the bearing points. A whole machine work step is devoted to trimming and smoothing the bristles. With lubricant, the bristles tend to adhere. The intensive search for a durable solution free of maintenance and lubrication began.

The solution: iglidur plain bearings and drylin linear bearings
The Wöhler design engineers have made a fundamental decision for their machines. On many different rotary and linear bearing arrangements, they now use plain bearings of the iglidur series and linear bearings of the drylin series made of high-performance polymers.
For the materials of the bearing series, Wähler relies on the material iglidur J and the "all-rounder" iglidur G(find out more about iglidur materials here). This is because the material is universally suitable for medium to high loads, medium surface speeds and medium temperatures. Wöhler tends to use iglidur J for linear bearings and iglidur G for rotary and pivoting movements.

Both plain bearings and linear bearings are maintenance-free despite the cutting dust and no preventive maintenance is necessary. This is due to the ability of the bearing materials to operate completely dry, which require no external addition of lubricants. The absence of lubrication also means that the dust produced when cutting and smoothing the bristles cannot adhere, sticking of the bearing points is prevented and the dust can simply be vacuumed away.

Bar stock also prove themselves in practice.
In addition to iglidur and drylin bearing products, Wöhler Brush Tech GmbH also uses bar stock. On the FP 900 B machine, for example, 40 handles for flat brushes are clamped on a central rotary table. The grippers used here are made of iglidur J material bar stock, which the specialist processes in-house. The grippers are therefore simple in design and extremely durable: neither ball bearings nor cam rollers are required.

Wöhler also often relies on bar stock for servicing its customers. For example, Wöhler converted the existing drive systems on a customer machine. A toothed belt drive with recirculating ball bearing guides was used in filament production. The machine specialist suggested the customer to guide the drive with linear bearings made of iglidur J, which were milled from bar stock. The result is convincing: In a machine that is already in operation, the axes have already covered 8000km after just 55 days - without any signs of wear.

Linear bearings and linear units in format adjustment
Wöhler uses linear plain bearings of the RJM/RJMP series to guide cylinders at several bearing points on the FP 900 B flat brush machine. Linear plain bearings from the drylin T series prove their worth for the format adjustment of several axes. In one case - when smoothing the brushes after applying the adhesive - relatively high forces and clearance-free format adjustment are required. Here, the Wöhler designers use a drylin lead screw module of the SLWE-PL series, which guarantees high rigidity with a shaft diameter of 16mm. Last but not least, the drylin W-1660 double rail guide is also used in the brushing machines from Wöhler Brush Tech.

For the manufacturer, who has access to a wide range of products for its machines, it also paid off to have a look at the online shop. There, the part numbers with prices can be called up individually, all bearing series can be calculated and CAD data can be downloaded. This saved the customer valuable time when designing.