The manufacturing industry has witnessed the rise of plain plastic bearings during the last 20 years, more and more so in automotive applications. Unknown to many engineers, plastic bearings have high wear resistance, require minimum maintenance and provide thermal stability, qualities imperative to the automotive industry.
Bearings made from high strength, self-lubricating plastic materials also deliver significant cost advantages over metal, and offer a range of technical benefits, including noise elimination, high temperature ranges, resistance to corrosion, and the elimination of lubrication and maintenance. Learn how engineered plastic bearings are holding up in automotive applications in this webinar, presented by igus, the world leader in self-lubricating plastics.
2. q This webinar will be available afterwards at
www.designworldonline.com & email
q Q&A at the end of the presentation
q Hashtag for this webinar: #DWwebinar
Before We Start
4. • Make up and capabilities of engineered plastic bearings
• Automotive application requirements and material specifications
• Material selection process for automotive applications
This webinar will cover:
Engineered plastic bearings for automotive applications
5. • igus® – 50+ years of polymer research and development
• Range of plastic bearings, linear bearings and guides, cable carriers, flexible
cables
• Millions of “iglide®” bearings used by automotive OEM’s each year
• Recyclable, meet ELV regulations
• Made of composite polymers for high strength/wear resistance
6. • Simple Polymers:
u Soft; weak when put against loads
u Have low COF (typically ≤.1)
u High wear rates
u Low melt temperature
Material Overview
[image credit: Stachowiak & Batchelor,, Engineering Tribology, 2005,
3rd Ed, Elsevier Inc., Chp. 16, Figs. 16.7, 16.9, and 16.26, pp. 657-‐‑672.]
9. • Traditional bearing solution
u Metallic shell with lubricating layer
u Inside layer subject to destruction
u COF maintained only through
internal layer thickness
Material Overview
12. Material Overview
PTFE lined metal backed bearing vs. composite polymer bearing
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Alu hc Cf53 St37 V2A
igus J
igus L280
igus Z
DU
Parameters: Pressure = 1 MPa, Velocity = 0,01 m/s
13. • Have high wear resistance
• Require little maintenance
• Provide thermal stability
• Resist corrosion
To succeed in automotive applications, plastic bearings must:
14. • More than 5,000 individual
experiments each year
• Industry’s largest test lab
• All results compiled into
massive database
• Customized testing possible
igus Test Lab
29. Material Selection
Selection criteria should include:
• Temperature
• Static surface pressure
• Counter-face roughness
• Speed
• Wear factor (k)
• Max PV value
30. Material Selection
PV value is the most critical factor when specifying a plastic bearing
PV value: friction heat created when the shaft moves inside the bearing
= pressure x speed
Via the bearing into the housing
Via the shaft outside the bearing
35. Thank You
q This webinar will be available at designworldonline.com & email
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