Tribo-Coating: Exploring avenues where 0.5mm is too big…

Some of the biggest issues that customers bring to igus® for solutions are: space constraints, wear and cost. We are renowned for the innovative ways in which we utilise our current materials and transform them into other mediums.

When tribo-tape was introduced, it instantly revolutionised the way in which we could prevent wear between two sliding surfaces. We were able to use the self-adhesive tape to create a bond between the surfaces and ensured that the surface remained in place.

In true igus® fashion, we developed the properties further and created our tribo-coating materials.

This addition to the tribo family opened new avenues for igus® products to be used. We could now look at applications where space is at such a premium that even the tribo-tape is deemed too large/ thick. When you consider the thickness of the tribo-tape being 0.5mm thick, you appreciate the small parameters we were now able to explore.

Tribo-coating reduces metal on metal contact and we have had instances where one part is coated to work against aluminium, steel or stainless steel as well as applications where is it worked against itself.

Facts:

The tribo-coating range currently consists of 4 different materials:

IC-01: white

IC-03: yellow

IC-02: black, low cost

IC-04: black, high temperature

Coating thickness depends on the application but ranges from 60-100 microns.

We can offer a complete solution. We make the powder in-house in Cologne, we can machine the required custom parts and can tribo-coat them, offering a full service. We don’t have to machine the parts, if you have your own part, you can free issue the part to us and we will coat it.

This innovative technology is very new and we are still running tests in the igus® lab but full wear data will be coming soon. We are also hoping to get an on-line configurator developed which will enable you, the customer to upload your CAD file of your desired part, choose your tribo-coating requirement and get a price for the service.

Watch this space!

Visit the Tribo-coating page to find out more about the above products at igus®.

Alternatively, contact our Tribo Product Manager Dean Aylott: daylott@igus.co.uk for any enquiries.