Ever tried putting a round bearing in a square hole?

Often people want a slewing ring bearing to form part of an application, but the size just doesn’t fit nicely in the space they have allowed. igus® have spent years developing a thinner version, a lighter version and an all polymer weight saving option. We have even made a square version with reduced fixing points.

“Show us the problem and we will find a solution”, this has never been truer and it’s with help from the likes of product managers, such as the PRT Product Manager Dean Aylott, who work with the igus® customers,  that the correct product is found and is suitable for the application.

In recent times, we have seen a shift in the market and the industries looking to use the PRT range. Many wanting to have a higher level of friction to give a feel of quality so that the product doesn’t turn under light loads or vibration, without having to break the bank.  Examples of this could be areas such as luxury interiors for automotive or aircraft.

Despite having a fairly large range of slewing rings, this doesn’t prevent us from having the option of custom making or custom adapting to create the optimum version for your application.

This could be a simple adaptation such as increasing the hole in the centre of the ring to allow product through, or maybe doing away with the hole altogether, adding a keyway or anodising the part in a different coating or colour.

But igus® want to do more…..

Make it predictable

To make life even easier, igus® now offers PRT slewing rings with isense technology, these report their wear status which detects and monitors maintenance requirements via remote diagnostics and informs as soon as wear appears. If the iglidur® polymer sliding elements have to be changed, the system is informed accordingly, all of this avoiding sudden machine shutdowns.

And as with all other igus® products, the online tool “Expert system for slewing ring bearings” is available for free to calculate the predicted service life.

The special tribological properties of iglidur® PRT slewing ring bearings enable a wide variety of applications, some mentioned previously but other areas of use could be:

• Vertical turning machines
• Base of robot arms
• Lighting equipment
• Shop construction and furniture manufacture
• Turning stations

iglidur® slewing rings, as versatile as they are, are not designed for high speeds or heavy loads, something to be mindful of.  For such cases, conventional multi-component bearings with lubrication and large interspaces are advantageous.

So, 50 years on, our promise remains the same, “show us the problem and we will find the solution”. If you have a rotational application that is turning axial, radial or moment loads then contact igus® and we will help you get the perfect slewing ring.