Cover story
Every iglidur material has further unique
properties. For example, when iglidur A181 is
paired with stainless-steel shafts, which are
used in food processing equipment mainly
to prevent corrosion, it has an outstanding
coefficient of friction in applications involving
pivoting and rotating movements. What is
special about the iglidur A160 is its good
chemical resistance, which also makes it
resistant to aggressive cleaning agents.
In addition, igus supplies iglidur A160 as
tribo-tape, for lining sliding surfaces that are
subjected to severe levels of stress, or as bar
stock for further machining.
As the safety standards for the protection
of consumers are extremely high, there is
a demand for detectable materials in food
processing machinery. In the igubal self-
aligning bearing range, igus offers products
that are made of ‘detectable’ plastics. The
material, which can be easily traced with
standard metal detecting techniques, is used
in selected igus rod end bearings, as well
as in swivel joints and clevis joints, flange
bearings, spherical bearings and pillow block
bearings. Also, igus manufactures a range of
xiros ball bearings in detectable materials.
igus also offers maintenance-free linear
guides made of stainless steel for the food
industry. The reason is that, in contrast to
conventional circulating ball bearing guides,
these drylin linear axes do not have to
be lubricated as the liners used between
the rail and carriage are made of iglidur
materials. The drylin ZLW toothed belt axis
has a very open design and parts from the
toothed belt and liner are made entirely of
stainless steel.
Extensive testing of its energy chains and
bearings enables igus to guarantee this
service life and make it calculable for all
products. At the in-house test laboratory,
plain bearing components of all types
are tested in different lifting and pivoting
movements. Energy chains and cables of all
sizes are moved on travels of up to 240m or
at temperatures down to -40°C and brought
to the limits of the stress that they can bear.
Every year, igus also carries out over 1,
customer-specific tests.
The results of all these tests are fed into a
database, which enables igus to provide
machine builders in the packaging, food
and beverage industry, free online tools
to find products and predict service
life. Engineers are therefore always able
to find the most suitable solution that
improves the technical performance of
their equipment, while reducing costs, and
can rely on tested and safe components in
their machines and systems.http://www.igus.co.uk/fooddpaonthenet.net 7
About the author:
Matthew Aldridge was appointed UK managing director of igus in 2013. Having joined
igus in 1996, he took immediate responsibility for developing the bearings area of the
business. He was promoted to product manager and then director of that division
in 2004. Matthew, from Bedfordshire, began his career as a graduate apprentice
at Hunting Engineering, which later became Lockheed Martin. During this time,
he completed a degree in mechanical engineering at the Royal Military College of
Science in Shrivenham.iglidur A160 is extremely resistant
to chemicals, including
aggressive cleaning agents