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Rod ends

Our rod end bearings are corrosion-free and designed for reliable operation in harsh environments. They perform exceptionally well in wet or humid conditions, offering strong resistance to certain acids and alkalis.

As with all igus® products, these rod ends are lubrication-free which eliminates the need for regularly maintenance and reduces operating costs. Compared to metallic alternatives, they provide a cost-effective solution without compromising on delivering high rigidity and a weight reduction. They are ideal components for applications where corrosion resistance, low weight, maintenance-free operation, and structural rigidity are critical performance requirements.

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Rod end options

Plastic rod ends

Plastic rod ends

  • Robust and corrosion-free
  • Can be combined with spherical balls made of different materials
  • Totally lubrication-free
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Metal rod ends

Metal rod ends

  • igubal® 2.0® - metallic rod ends
  • Suitable for high lateral loads
  • Maintenance-free inner ring with stainless steel spherical ball
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Food industry

Food industry

  • FDA- and EU10/2011-compliant
  • Visually and magnetically detectable
  • Suitable for contact with food
  • Lubrication and maintenance-free
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The benefits at a glance

Save costs with igubal coupling joints

Cost-effective
Up to 40% more cost-effective than metallic variants.

Up to 80% lighter than metal

Lightweight
Up to 80% lighter than metallic components.

Dirt-resistant

Dirt-resistant
A large undercut prevents the ingress of dirt.

Corrosion-free igubal® coupling joints

Corrosion-free
Polymer coupling joints can come into contact with water and media.

Maintenance-free

Self-lubricating
No lubrication required and completely maintenance-free for the entire lifetime.

Quick and easy assembly

Easy installation
Very easy assembly and disassembly. Up to six times faster than metal versions.

Application examples using rod end bearings

EcoRobotix customer example

Herbicide application

Swiss start-up EcoRobotix manufactures autonomous robots for ecological and economical weed control. The robot weighs around 130 kilograms, moves independently, orientates and positions itself using GPS and a camera.

The robot recognises where the weeds are located and once identified, the robot sprays a dose of herbicide onto the weed with pinpoint accuracy using two robot arms. To ensure that the two robot arms have the required manoeuvrability, they chose igus rod end bearings.

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    • Arrabona Racing Team car

    Rod end bearings in a race car

    University students on the Arrabona Racing Team, based in Hungary, built a race car that needed to be reliable and lightweight. The components used must also be extremely lightweight so that the overall vehicle can be as light as possible. It was also important that as many products required no or little lubrication or maintenance.

    The car's pedal box uses igus' rod end bearings, which are about 80% lighter than comparable metal bearings.

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    • Tested in the our laboratory!

    With their tribological specifications, 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 for our rod ends under real conditions with the aim of providing the best plastic solution for your application.

    The polymer rod ends are optimised for use in motion and their specifications open up new scope in design. Focus of the tests are push/pull forces, low coefficient of friction, wear, abrasion and driving forces at various speeds and bearing loads.

    Contact us

    Contact details

    Alan Hicks
    Alan Hicks07467 956571Submit form

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