Press releasePM 1411-EU
Page1 of 2
The Biological Bearing Material
New: Wear-resistant plain bearing made with 54% vegetable oil
Polymer researcher and bearings specialist igus GmbH, Cologne, has developed a plain bearing material that is based on 54 percent renewable raw materials. The basic polymer of the new “iglidur N54” plain bearing is mainly made from vegetable oil rather than finite crude oil. The company’s mechanically and tribologically optimised biological plastic is suitable for universal use in the low-load range. Product manager René Achnitz: “The new, lubricant-free “iglidur N54” material joins our broad range of high-performance materials for genreal purpose, low-load applications and is a first serious step towards ‘green bearings’.” As well as general mechanical engineering applications, igus mainly sees possibilities in consumer goods markets, for example furniture or other items of daily use.
Ecological advantage of polymer bearings
The new bio-bearing smoothly fits in with the company’s concept of developing environmentally friendly alternatives for more and more applications that currently work with lubricated metallic plain and roller bearings. On the one hand, “iglidur” bearings help to protect resources and the environment due to the incorporated solid lubricants. Polymer bearings from igus do not require any oil and grease, are lubricant and maintenance-free, which means no contaminants are released to the environment. In addition, they have a low weight in comparison with metallic options, leading to lower masses and thus reduced energy consumption. Furthermore, the energy balance for the production of plastics is significantly better than for metals. Whereas the energy from 15 litres of crude oil is necessary to produce 1 litre of aluminium, and 1 litre of steel requires 11 litres of crude oil calculated on the same basis, the production of 1 litre of plastic only needs an average of 1.8 litres of crude oil. According to igus, this value is expected to fall even further on account of the major progress currently being made in the field of vegetable oil based polymers. According to the branch association European Bioplastics, the production capacity for bioplastics is expected to rise from around 700,000 tonnes in the year 2010 to about 1.7 million tonnes by 2015.
Photo PM1411-01:igus GmbH, Cologne
Lubricant and maintenance-free, mechanically and tribologially optimised: The basic polymer of the new bio-bearing “iglidur N54” from the Cologne-based plain bearing expert igus is made with 54 percent vegetable oil.
Photo PM1411-02:igus GmbH, Cologne
Ecological weight advantage and the corresponding energy consumption: the average density of “iglidur” plastics is 1.4 g/cm³. Aluminium weighs twice as much, steel is even five and a half times heavier.
CONTACT:igus® GmbH
Spicher Str. 1a
D-51147 Köln
Phone+49-22 03 / 96 49-0
Fax+49-22 03 / 96 49-222
/ The terms “igus, chainflex, readycable, easychain, e.chain, e.chainsystems, energy chain, energy chain system, flizz, readychain, triflex, twisterchain, invis, drylin, iglidur, igubal, xiros, xirodur, plastics for longer life, manus, vector“ are legally protected trademarks in the Federal Republic of Germany and, where applicable, in some foreign countries.
PRESS CONTACT:
André Kluth
Head of Corporate Communications
igus GmbH
Spicher Str. 1a
D-51147 Köln
Tel. +49 (0) 22 03 / 96 49 - 611
Fax+49 (0) 22 03 / 96 49 - 631
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