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

• What was needed: plain bearing iglidur® J, plain bearing iglidur® G, linear plain bearing bushes of the series RJM/RJMP, linear plain bearing of the drylin® T series, drylin® lead screw module of the series SLWE-PL, drylin® W-1660
• Requirements: The high production speed with dynamic and short strokes required 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 procures the material iglidur® in various material types for linear and plain bearings. The specialist benefits from the lubrication-free and maintenance-free operation of the bearing. The optimised coefficient of friction of the bearing with incorporated lubricant enables a long service life.

Machines with high demands on the bearings
The production machines from Wöhler Brush Tech GmbH also allow high production speeds - if requested by the customer: with a system that produces 60 flat brushes per minute, Wöhler holds the unofficial "world record" for performance in brush production. If you see such a machine in operation, two things become apparent. Firstly, brush production requires numerous coordinated movements, many of which are very dynamic and with short strokes. When selecting the bearing for these movements, therefore, not only robust but also durable materials were required. Secondly, hair and dust from the cut bristles are also a problem for the bearings. An entire work step of the machine therefore consists solely of trimming or smoothing the bristles. In combination with lubricant, the bristles tend to stick. The intensive search for a solution that was as durable as it was maintenance- and lubrication-free began.

The solution: iglidur® plain bearing and drylin® linear bearing
The Wöhler designers have made a basic decision for their machines: On many different rotary and linear bearings, 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 - even more frequently - on 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 sliding speeds and medium temperatures. Wöhler tends to use iglidur® J for linear bearings and iglidur® G for rotary and swivelling movements.

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

Bar stock has also proven itself 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 bar stock from the material iglidur® J, 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 in the service area of 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 to its customer the guidance of the drive with linear bearings made of iglidur® J, which were milled from bar stock. The result is convincing: In a machine already in operation, the axis have already travelled 8000 km after only 55 days - without any signs of wear.

Linear bearings and linear tables in format adjustment
Wöhler uses linear plain bearing bushes from 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 format adjustments of several axes. In one case - when smoothing the brushes after applying the adhesive - relatively high forces and a clearance-free format adjustment are required. Here, the Wöhler designers use a drylin® lead screw module from the SLWE-PL series, which ensures high rigidity with a shaft diameter of 16 mm. Last but not least, the drylin® W-1660 double rail guide is also used in the brush machines from Wöhler Brush Tech.

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