Electric cars in the Formula Student

Global Formula Racing - a cooperation between two universities, one in Germany and one in the US - is jointly developing two race cars for formula racing. In addition to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, a completely electric race car also regularly competes in the student competitions.

The complex machines consist of several hundred parts, where iglidur plain bearings and drylin linear units are also installed. Components from 3D printing are also well represented in the formula cars. The 3D printing advantage is that even complex structures, such as undercuts and cavities, can be implemented very quickly and cost-effectively.

The machines also use wear-resistant drylin and iglidur bearing technology.

Robust bearing technology for the PWR Racing Team

The students in the PWR Racing Team from Wroclaw University of Technology in Poland regularly pit their cars against those of other teams around the world for the best times.

The ambitious young engineers work with our bearing technology in many areas, such as suspension, steering, and pedal support. High-performance sport with its high speeds on rough tracks requires components to be as lightweight as possible and very robust.

PWR Racing uses iglidur and igubal bearings in the suspension, steering, and pedals.

Suspension

The suspension system uses slide bearings made of iglidur P and Z and igubal spherical bearings. They are suitable for formula cars because they work reliably even under variable, oscillating loads while also saving valuable weight.

Pedals

For maximum performance on the track, the pedal plate must be extremely stiff and compact and implement the movements without resistance. Plain bearings made of iglidur G and J and igubal spherical bearings are the perfect solution here.

Steering system

The students use plain bearings made of iglidur X in the steering system. They take the place of large, heavy metal bearings that require a special assembly tool. They also require no maintenance and can cope with even difficult environmental conditions such as moisture.

In the gearbox
1 iglidur X thrust washers (such as XTM-1018-010)
2 iglidur J thrust washers (such as JTM-1018-010)
3 iglidur W flange bearings

In the steering
4 igubal spherical bearings (such as KGLI-08)
5 igubal spherical bearings (such as KGLM-22)
6 customized 3D printed linear guide

In the pedals
7 iglidur G flanged bearing (such as GFM-1517-05)

3D printed components for formula race cars

This race car, created by the Formula Student Team from Weingarten near Ravensburg, Germany uses 3D printed parts made of our iglidur material:
The car competes with cars made by other student teams from all over Germany as part of the "Formula Student Germany" design competition.

To build their formula race car, the team from Weingarten used customised plastic pinions as chain tensioners in the chain drive. Unfortunately, special-size pinions have long delivery times, and classic production with milling is time-consuming. Here, our 3D printing service provided quick help and produced the plastic pinions in less than 72 hours.

"AMZ", the Swiss Formula Student team, has been competing with electric drives since 2010. And it has had success: the 166kg car accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds and has moved up to second place in the world rankings.

Our products also contributed to this performance: for the first time, a stabilizer bar connecting the left and right suspension, thus reducing chassis roll in curves, is not mounted with bronze sleeves, but with iglidur Q plain bearings. These bearings are a fraction of the weight and still withstand all loads without any problems. They are also corrosion-free and absolutely weatherproof, which is a big improvement over last year.

For decades, the Shell Eco-marathon has been awarding prizes to the most fuel-efficient vehicles.
Light construction is not the only feature participants need for victory on the 25km track. They also need all components to be very reliable and resistant to wear.

Our iglidur and igubal plain bearing portfolio with its lightweight plastic components that can withstand the constant high impact forces and vibrations on the racetrack provides the perfect solution. Installed in a participating vehicle, they make it much lighter for the Shell Eco-marathon, saving fuel and ensuring long service intervals in hard-to-reach places in the machinery.

Our lightweight, shock-resistant plain bearings help this participant in the Shell Eco-marathon reach the finish line safely.