Last days in Taiwan
The leg of the trip within Taiwan has unfortunately come to an end an it’s time for us to move onto the next part of our adventure. For two weeks we have been exploring the whole island, driving more than 2700km. One aspect, other than the beautiful scenery, that stands out is the outstanding volume of scooters on the road. They literally rule the street. igus® helps increase the lifetime of the most popular transport vehicle in Taiwan. AEON, a well-known scooter manufacturer, relies on igus® for both the suspension at the front and the back and for the throttle valve.
The smooth motion of the throttle valve is ensured by two iglidur® bearings. They not only withstand extreme weather conditions such as in this case the hot environment without any problems, but are also light in weight and cost effective. This results in them being a perfect alternative to conventional, heavy metal bearings. iglidur® bearings in throttle valves are becoming increasingly common for use within scooters as well as the automotive industry in general. Similarly, the ‘iglidur® on tour’ car has been relying on two iglidur® bearings in the throttle valve for more than 150000 km so far, driving through heavy tropical rain in Taiwan, incredible heat in the desert and cold in the mountains. A definite cert for an all round material.
iglidur® plain bearings within the suspension help dampen the force that occurs whilst hitting a bump. If the force is too high, the suspension changes its angle to suit this. On the picture below our bearings are not visible as they are located internally. The bearings, that are guiding the suspension, are facing high edge loads and fast strokes. They have been doing this for many years without any problems.
It doesn’t matter what the environmental conditions are, it could be pouring down with rain, scooters are still on the road in their great quantities. Although, without any question, it is best to ride the scooters when it is sunny. As you become closer to Kentig in the South, the more you can see the sun. While driving along the coast and chasing the sun, more and more rice fields appear.
The south of Taiwan is a number one choice for holiday destination for the Taiwanese and also Chinese.
Beautiful beaches can be found at ease, however the main issues is the popularity of those mean getting a space to sit and relax could end up being slightly slim.
Kaohsiung is the major port city in the South. As iglidur® is universally applicable, you can also find us in boats (such as our drylin® linear guides in boat interior (tables etc.)). Thus, we also had a booth at the famous boat show that was held for three days in the brand new exhibition hall.
Coincidentally, the last day of the boat show was mothers day and to get iglidur involved within this theme, you could write an iglidur® on tour postcard to your mum, an offer which even the mayor of the city was making use of.
Not only did we visit customers on our trip, but also two kindergartens. The teacher read and heard about an orange car that is travelling around the world. Drumming up excitement within the school, the children asked if iglidur could pay them a visit. More than 130 children between the ages 3-6 welcomed us with a special dance performance when we entered their playground.
Fully loaded with self-made balloons, our car arrived at the office in Taichung.
We had an incredible two weeks. Yet now the time has come to say goodbye and move onto the next leg of our journey: Japan.
As usual, I will keep you up to date with the latest on our tour,
yours Sascha
