Maintenance-free heavy-duty and fibre composite plain bearings

Developed for very high loads

With composite bearings is a combination of different materials for this purpose, e.g. mineral materials (glass, coal) are woven, combined with synthetic resins and other additives and sometimes pressed together under high temperatures and pressure.

With our igutex® plain bearings serves a robust glass fibre fabric as outer shell while an inner layer optimised for sliding properties reduces the friction on the shaft.

The combination of these materials creates high-strength fibre composite plain bearings which are mainly used in agricultural, construction and mining machinery. Since our igutex® composite bearings contain solid lubricants, they require no maintenance and additional lubrication. Incidentally, this also applies to our iglidur heavy-duty plain bearings. These also eliminate the need for regular lubrication, making your bearing points maintenance-free.

What you will find on this page

Why you benefit from igutex® composite bearings and iglidur® plain bearings

Save time and money

✅ No costs for lubricants
✅ No failures due to insufficient lubrication
✅ Time and money saved on daily maintenance

No loss lubrication

✅ No release of lubricant into the environment
✅ No loss lubrication for wear protection
✅ No centralised lubrication necessary

Developed for high loads

Extremely robust and wear-resistant
✅ Tested under real operating conditions
✅ Calculable service life thanks to test database

Our high-strength igutex® fibre composite plain bearings

igutex TX1

Robust all-rounder material

Data sheet
igutex® TX1 in the online shop

igutex TX2

Perfect for hard shafts

Data sheet
igutex® TX2 in the online shop

igutex TX3

For continuous operation with very high loads

Data sheet
igutex® TX3 in the online shop

What is special about igutex® fibre composite plain bearings?

Where injection-moulded plain bearings cannot be used due to excessive mechanical loads, wound igutex® fibre composite plain bearings come into their own. They consist of two layers:

1 gliding layer

The gliding layer consists of a filament fabric with solid lubricants, which makes the composite plain bearings self-lubricating and maintenance-free and gives them a particularly low coefficient of friction.

2 Support layer

The outer layer of igutex® plain bushings is made from particularly hard-wearing filament fabrics and serves to protect the tribologically optimised inner layer.

igutex fibre composite plain bearings are used here

Reliable despite dirt and grime

The track vehicle from Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG relies on wound igutex heavy-duty plain bearings in the oscillating and tensioning axles. Even in mud, slush, and bog, igutex plain bearings remain reliable.

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Lubrication costs saved

The Demarko company uses igutex composite plain bearings in oscillating axles for semi-trailers. Since the fabric bushings do not have to be lubricated and are part of the igus standard range, Demarko was able to reduce production costs.

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20 tons load and salt water

The Ship & Yacht Engineering Ltd. A-frame can lift loads of up to 20 tons. Therefore, heavy-duty plain bearings that are suitable for high loads were required. For use on the high seas, they also needed to be weatherproof.

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Our iglidur® heavy-duty plain bearing

iglidur Q3E - High-load plain bearing for large quantities

iglidur Q3E is our heavy-duty plain bearing made from two components with excellent tribological specifications. The sliding surface consists of iglidur Q3 and is surrounded by a high-strength jacket. The combination of both materials ensures high mechanical resilience with low wear at the same time.

Find out more about iglidur Q3E

iglidur SG03 plain bearing with felt seal

The iglidur SG03 plain bearing seals bearing points with its felt seal. This prevents dust and dirt from penetrating the bearing point and damaging it. In laboratory tests, the use of the felt seal increased the service life of the plain bearing by up to 50 times.

More information in the online shop

iglidur Q2 plain bearing for high load carrying capacity

iglidur Q2 plain bearings represent high load capacities and good abrasion resistance at high loads. The plain bearing offers excellent value for money. Solid lubricants in the plain bearing material lower the coefficient of friction and reduce wear. Q2 plain bearings are specially developed for heavy-duty pivoting applications.

More information in the online shop

What is special about iglidur® plain bearings?

Plain bearing bearing with construction machine

iglidur® bearings are developed from very wear-resistant plastic with a very low coefficient of friction. Over 60 different iglidur® materials are available and are each developed for special applications. All contain solid lubricants and are therefore suitable for use without additional lubrication and maintenance.

In addition to polymers, iglidur® bearings for heavy-duty applications contain fibres and fillers, which give them their high wear resistance. This means they can be used without problems with high forces and edge loads.

Thanks to a large database with test results, the service life can also be determined for various operating conditions.

Here iglidur heavy-duty plain bearings are in use

Maintenance-free in wind and weather

Agricultural vehicle with Rockinger trailer coupling

A customised wear insert made of iglidur material makes lubrication superfluous and prevents high costs for the replacing the coupling. In addition, no lubricant is released into the environment.

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No problem with high loads

The Ets Payant pulley module transports soil from a depth of up to 65 metres to the surface and can lift up to 5 tons of material. No problem for the iglidur two hole flange bearings and thrust washers used.

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Maintenance time saved

Thanks to self-lubricating iglidur plain bearings, one hour of maintenance is saved daily at the bearing points of the Lemken cultivator. Thanks to the stability of the iglidur plain bearings, the reliability is also significantly increased.

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Free consultation without obligation

Our experienced application specialists analyse your bearing points and work with you to develop the optimum lubrication-free system.

- Request support online

- Arrange an appointment on request

-Support available by phone or via video chat

Request advice now

Free heavy-duty brochure

Find out more about the following topics:

Discussions with our development experts
Material overview with heavy-duty plain bearings
How iglidur and igutex materials work
Lubrication – a challenge for industry
Sustainable product developments
Test results of various plain bearing types
practical application examples

Download now for free (PDF)

Free white paper

Download our white paper now "Success factors for lubrication-free bearing points in construction machinery" down.
These topics await you:

Important functions of lubrication in plain bearings
Reasons for switching to lubrication-free plain bearings
Differentiation: lubrication-free iglidur plain bearings vs. lubricated metallic bearings
How self-lubricating plain bearings work
This must be taken into account when changing to dry-running plain bearings

Download now for free (PDF)