With their tribological properties, our polymer plain bearings fulfil the highest requirements for a long service life without additional lubrication. To achieve this quality, we carry out over 135 trillion test movements per year in our plain bearing test laboratory spread over 250m². We test and develop materials and plain bearings under real conditions with the goal of providing you with the best solution made of polymer for your application. The polymer bearings are optimised for use in motion and open up new possibilities in design with their specifications. Base polymers, solid lubricants and reinforcing materials are combined in such a way that the plain bearing specifications required for the application are completely achieved. Focus of the tests are push/pull forces, low coefficient of friction, wear, abrasion and driving forces at various speeds and bearing loads.
In the iglidur and igubal test area, bearings and materials are tested for stress, wear and friction properties. Other parameters such as high and low temperatures, high loads and speed are adjusted according to the test. In the test laboratory, there are around 50 test facilities, where more than 300 tests are carried out in parallel. At the same time, we perform around 11,300 tribological examinations each year on approximately 250 newly developed polymer compounds. To ensure that the new formulations prove their worth in later use, they are exposed not only to external influences, but also to different movement directions and loads - rotating, pivoting, linear motion and tumbling.
In addition, we test our components for effects in the event of dirt, very different weather conditions and even with shock and impacts. The results of our tests are stored in databases and incorporated into the online tools.
The further use of the results from the product and material tests is varied. The data is used for new and further development, and is also used to determine the appropriate components for the specific application. Anyone who is interested, can use the online tools of the numerous product areas free of charge. Each product area has its own tools, such as the expert system, which compares products according to the requirements, such as high compressive strength or radial forces and calculates their service life.
We thoroughly test our plain bearings whether it is for service life or coefficient of friction. In addition to numerous product and material tests, we also examine individual customer applications. To give you an idea, we have compiled a selection of tests.
