Polymer bearings promise high precision and rigidity

A new range of bearings made of high-performance polymer has been developed to ensure precise and easy movements in linear technology.

The bearings consist of an aluminium housing and a thin liner, which helps to ensure smooth and quiet operation combined with high rigidity.

igus developed the W360CM series to be able to move linear bearings on shafts with high precision. Made of iglidur W360 high-performance polymer, the bearings do not need external lubrication – reducing the risk of contamination and additional maintenance. The material also enables quiet and smooth operation. The dimensions of the new series match metallic ball bushings, so that they can be easily converted.

Linear guides are used wherever goods or objects need to be moved from one point to another, or equipment or machines need to be adjusted. Precision is important for a range of uses, such as in microscope tables or in X-ray equipment and the linear plain bearing series is said to ensure the highest precision and rigidity in drylin R shaft guides.

The bearings are produced in injection moulding and the operating temperature range is between 0°C and 50°C. The thin wall thickness and higher material strength of the linear bearings ensure a low bearing clearance at the operating point as a result of reduced elasticity.

The W360CM linear bearings can be mounted in all drylin housings as well as in all standard receptacles for linear ball bushings. This means that ball-based solutions can be converted 1:1 without a construction wall, using the maintenance-free solution. The company explains that the design of its new linear bearings is simple: the liners are pressed into the housing until a pre-loaded snap hook is inserted into a groove. In this way, the films are secured against displacement even under high loads and temperatures. The new drylin R series was tested at the igus laboratory in Cologne, Germany and gauge measurements to check bearing clearance and precision showed that the W360CM series bearings performed better than coated linear bearings.