Our test laboratory for iglidur® plain bearings

With their tribological specifications, our plastic plain bearings fulfil the highest requirements for a long service life without additional lubrication. To achieve this quality, we carry out over 135 trillion test movements per year in our 250 m² plain bearing test laboratory. We test and develop materials and plain bearings under real conditions with the aim of delivering the best plastic solution for your application. The polymer bearings are optimised for use in motion and open up new scope in design with their specifications. Base polymers, solid lubricants and reinforcements are combined in such a way that the characteristics of the plain bearing required for the application are fully achieved. The tests focus on tensile and shear forces, coefficient of friction, wear as well as abrasion and drive force under different speeds and loads of the bearing.

What is tested and how?

In the iglidur® and igubal® test area, bearings and materials are tested for stress, wear and friction properties. Other parameters such as high and low temperatures, high load and speed are adjusted depending on the test. There are around 50 test systems in the test laboratory, on which more than 300 parallel tests are carried out. At the same time, we carry out around 11,300 tribological tests on the 250 or so newly developed plastic compounds every year. To ensure that the new formulations prove themselves in later use, they are not only exposed to external influences, but also to different directions of movement and loads - rotating, swivelling, linear, walking.

We also test our components for the effects of dirt, weather conditions, impacts and shocks. The results of our tests are stored in databases and incorporated into our online tool.

Test laboratory for plain bearings

Which test stands are available in the plain bearing test laboratory?

Front loader test rig

Test: rotating wear rate
Load up to 500kg
Operating pressure: up to 200 bar
Vmax: 4 cycles/min at full pivot

Find out more about the front loader test rig

Rotation wear

Test: rotating wear rate
Load per bearing point between 100 N and 1000 N
surface speed between 100 and 1300 rpm.
Available shaft diameters: 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20mm
Tests at room temperature and up to 150°C
Underwater tests

Linear short-stroke wear

Testing the linear wear rate
Load per bearing point between 10 N and 200 N
Surface speed between 0.1m/s and 0.3m/s
Tests at room temperature and up to 150°C
Available shaft diameter 10mm
Stroke length: 5mm

Pivoting wear

Test of pivoting wear rate
Load per bearing point between 25N and 300N
Surface speed of 0.01m/s (with 10mm shaft diameter)
Pivoting angle of 60°
Available shaft diameter: 10mm
Tests at room temperature

Coefficient of friction

Test for rotating coefficient of friction
Load per bearing point between 10 N and 300 N
Surface speed between 200 and 2,000rpm (speed depends on the shaft diameter)
Available shaft diameters: 6 to 20mm
Tests at room temperature
Tests at room temperature and up to 150°C

Linear technology tests underwater

Test of pivoting wear rate
Load up to 100N
Surface speed of 0.01m/s
Tests at room temperature
Available shaft diameter 10mm

Rotation test rig under water

Test for rotating wear rate
Load between 10 N and 100 N
Surface speed between 0.01m/s and 0.3m/s
Test at room temperature
Available shaft diameter 10mm

Edge load test

Test for wear, tumbling
Load between 30 kN and 230 kN
Surface speed of 0.01m/s
Tests at room temperature
Available shaft diameter 40mm

Linear film test rig

Test for linear wear rate
Load between 10N and 60N
Surface speed between 0.01m/s and 0.15m/s
Test at room temperature
Pin diameter 4mm and 10mm

Heavy duty rotation

Test for rotating wear rate
Load between 4,000N and 52,000N
Surface speed up to 0.1m/s
Test at room temperature
Available shaft diameter 20mm

Tumble test rig

Test for wear rolling, tumbling
Tests with solid plastic roller, knife edge roller, bushed steel roller ...
Load between 10N and 600N
Surface speed between 0.15m/s and 1m/s
Test at room temperature
Shaft diameter from 6mm to 20mm

Which online tools obtain the test data

The results from the product and material tests are utilised in a variety of ways. The data is incorporated into new and further development, but is also used to determine the right components for the specific application. For this purpose, anyone interested can use the online tools of the numerous product areas free of charge. Each product area has its own tools such as the expert system, which compares products with each other in terms of requirements such as high compressive strength or radial forces and calculates their service life.

Expert system for iglidur® plain bearings
Product finder for iglidur® bearings
Expert system for igubal® Spherical plain bearing
service life calculator for xiros ball bearings
Expert system for PRT slewing ring bearings

Test in the test lab and igus online tool

We would love to test your application

Do you want to avoid experimenting and subject your application to a material test before use? Or do you have an unusual application for which a suitable solution needs to be found? No problem. We will test your application in our test laboratory and use our expertise to find the best igus® solution for you. Regardless of whether it is a plain bearing, energy chain, cable, linear technology, bar stock, guide rollers or Low Cost Automation.

Enquire now!