igus presents Sly Agri with manus UK 2015 award
iglidur® bearings help keep EU farmers on track
Tribopolymer bearing expert igus® presents this year’s prestigious manus UK award to specialist agricultural machinery manufacturer, Sly Agri Ltd for use of complex technical plastic bearings in the pivoting points on the suspension of its innovative track system.
“As in previous years, this year’s manus award has attracted a high standard of diverse entries from UK engineers,” said Rob Dumayne, director at igus. “Sly Agri’s track system stood out in particular as it is an excellent demonstration of how plastic bearings have proven reliable in adverse environments, and without the regular re-greasing intervals required by metallic bronze alternatives.”
Soil compaction is a major problem in farming; with larger, heavier machinery being used, conventional tyres are a major contributor to this problem, which can cause some serious damage to fields, as well as have a huge impact on crop yields. A standalone undercarriage, Sly Agri’s track system can be mounted up to almost any chassis and effectively transfers the weight on the machine onto the ground in a far more controlled manner than tyres, this weight can be up to 50 tonnes on a fully laden grain cart, thus minimising deep soil compaction.
The track system has its own suspension, which improves contour following and helps cushion the machine and itself from impacts when hitting rocks and ruts. An array of hydraulic cylinders with accumulators is used, creating 18 pivoting axles in total over both sides of the track system to follow the ground and absorb the loads. It is at these pivoting points where the igus® iglidur® bearings are used.
On receiving the manus UK 2015 award Toby Kilham, head engineer at Sly Agri, said: “We are absolutely delighted and honoured to receive this award from igus®, particularly given the calibre of the other UK entries. On stripping down the track system after its first harvest season, the condition of the bearings was almost as good as new – that’s after a few hundred hours of constant abuse. This is testament to the reliability of iglidur® bearings, which are self-lubricating and therefore maintenance free, especially under these harsh operating conditions.”
For further information about other plastic bearing applications, please visit: www.igus.co.uk/manus or call igus® directly on 01604 677240.
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Image 1 photo caption: (left to right) Rob Dumayne, director at igus, George Sly, director at Sly Agri and Toby Kilham, head engineer at Sly Agri
About igus®:
Based in Northampton in the UK, and with global headquarters in Cologne, Germany, igus® is the largest producer of injection moulded polymer bearings and reinforced plastic cable carriers in the world. Product lines include industry-leading e-chain cable carriers, chainflex continuous-flex cables, iglidur® plastic plain bearings, igubal® spherical bearings, drylin® linear bearings and guide systems. The company has 26 subsidiaries across 31 countries and employs more than 2150 people worldwide.
With plastic bearing experience since 1964, cable carrier experience since 1971 and continuous-flex cable since 1989, igus® provides the right solution based on 100,000 products available from stock with between 1,500 and 2,500 new product introductions each year
For more information, please call igus® directly on 01604 677240 or visit the website at: www.igus.co.uk. Follow us at http://twitter.com/igusUK, watch our videos at www.igus.co.uk/YouTube, connect with us at www.igus.co.uk/Facebook and see our brand new blog on blog.igus.co.uk.
igus®, e-chain®, readychain®, chainflex®, iglidur®, igubal®, drylin® and manus® are registered trademarks.
For further information, please contact:
Rob Dumayne, igus®
Tel: 01604 677240
Email:
Julia Swan, Technical Publicity
Tel: 01582 393122
Email: