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What is iglidur®?
Engineered Solutions for Predictable Performance
iglidur® materials are developed by igus and manufactured from high-performance polymers engineered specifically for tribological applications. With optimized material composition, this allows us to deliver exceptional wear resistance, high mechanical robustness, and self-lubricating properties.
One key element for designers is having the ability to calculate service life of products. Using validated test data and performance models, the service life of iglidur® components can be specifically predicted under specified load, speed, and environmental conditions. This enables reliable design validation and reduces unplanned maintenance.
Each iglidur® polymer is formulated with individual mechanical, thermal, chemical, and tribological characteristics. These tailored specifications allow engineers to select materials optimized for their specific requirements, including high-load applications, extreme temperatures, chemical exposure, FDA compliance, or cost-sensitive high-volume production.
What are iglidur materials made of?
All iglidur materials are made up of three components: base polymers, fibres and fillers, solid lubricants. As it is not possible for one universal material to fulfil all tasks equally well, there are different iglidur materials. Each has a different proportion of the three components and a different application area.
Base polymer with fibres and solid lubricants, magnified 200 times, dyed
How does self-lubrication work in more detail?
Millions of the solid lubricants are embedded in tiny chambers in the solid, usually fibre-reinforced material. From these chambers, the material releases infinitesimal amounts of solid lubricants during movement. This is sufficient to satisfactorily lubricate the immediate surrounding area.
They also help to reduce the coefficient of friction of our iglidur materials. They are not indispensable for proper function of the bearing, but provide support. As they are embedded in the tiny chambers, they cannot be pressed out.
Thanks to the self-lubricating effect, maintenance on iglidur materials can be reduced to a minimum. Regular relubrication is not necessary due to the integrated solid lubricants and this ensures that dirt or dust cannot settle.
Applications where clean running is essential, such as food applications, packaging and medical rely on components that are dry running and require no additional lubrication.
Predictable service life
Ensuring the service life of our parts is one of our main goals.
Our iglidur® materials have been tested thousands of times in practical trials and proven millions of times in application.
The test data from the trials flow into the free online tools and configurators, with which the service life for e.g. plain bearings, bar stock and slewing ring bearings made of iglidur materials can be precisely predicted.
This ensures that you can be confident that the components you pick are going to last the time you want, no unwanted or un planned breakdowns.
Specifications of our iglidur materials
Other plain bearing plastics, their specifications and our alternatives
POM
This material is easy to process and machine, which is why it is so versatile. POM plastic is also wear-resistant and comparatively inexpensive. However, it quickly reaches its limits at high temperatures and loads. POM also tends to emit small amounts of formaldehyde, which is why the material must not be used in vehicle interiors, for example. However, it is used, e.g. in hand mixers or packaging lines.
One of the iglidur® equivalents would be iglidur J however check the tools to be sure
PA66
PA66 is also versatile and inexpensive, but in contrast to POM it is also significantly stronger and somewhat more temperature-resistant. However, this material is less easy to machine. PA66 is more wear-resistant than POM, has good friction behaviour and high mechanical strength. It is therefore often used for bearing points subject to higher stresses. The addition of fillers and reinforcing materials results in many different specifications and applications.
PEEK
It is often used for plain bearings and can be described as a high-end material. It can be used at temperatures above 200°C, is resistant to chemicals and has good strength and good tribological specifications. However, PEEK is comparatively expensive and can cost 20 times as much as POM or PA66. PEEK is often used where other plastics cannot withstand and metallic bearings can only be used with lubrication or protected against corrosion at great expense.
Wear test: how does iglidur perform compared to other plastics?
An example of a typical test
Test parameters:
- Rotation
- Speed v = 0.3m/s
- Load p = 1N/mm²
- Shaft material: 304 SS
Test results show that various base polymers exhibit very different service lives. iglidur achieves a comparatively high value as a compound based on one of the base polymers tested.
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