S A F E T Y
THE
‘WORLD'S
FIRST’
INTELLIGENT
PLAIN BEARING
Plain bearings often
have to withstand
considerable adverse
influences such as
abrasive dust, high speeds or
chemicals. To enable indication
of the degree of wear of such
plain bearings in good time, igus
has now developed the world's
first intelligent bearing with iglidur
high-performance plastics. This
warns of imminent failure in good
time. Machine and equipment
operators can plan maintenance,
repairs and part replacement in
advance.
If a building machine fails,
packaging equipment comes
SAFETY
DOOR SYSTEM
Like the recently
introduced MGB2
Modular, the new MGB2
Classic is an enhancement
of the globally successful
multifunctional gate box (MGB)
from Euchner.
Unlike the Modular variant,
however, the Classic version does
not communicate using a bus
system. It is instead connected
directly to the respective control
system, making it the ideal choice
for non-networked machines that
are wired in parallel. The system
features two OSSD outputs,
continuously provides diagnostic
information via an LED indicator,
to a standstill or a wind turbine
no longer turns due to a bearing
failure, this causes a lot of
trouble for the operators of such
machines and equipment. igus
has therefore added the world's
first intelligent plain bearing to its
range of smart plastics products.
It detects wear in extremely
stressful applications in advance
and sends a signal to the user
in good time if the bearing
threatens to fail. Maintenance
work can therefore be planned
and operators of agricultural
machines, for example, are not
surprised during the harvest
season.
and can be connected in series
with up to ten devices.
The modular design of
the MGB2 Classic offers
maximum flexibility to machine
manufacturers, integrators
and users. All requirements for
door locking systems can be
met through combination with
numerous freely selectable
submodules. Submodules can
include pushbuttons, selector
switches, key-operated rotary
switches or emergency stop
buttons, for example. This
simplifies warehousing and
allows subsequent machine
modifications or expansions to
"We have primarily developed
smart iglidur for difficult-toaccess
bearing points and for
applications where no regular
maintenance intervals have
been planned", explains Stefan
Loockmann-Rittich, head of
the business unit iglidur Plain
Bearings at igus GmbH.
The body of the new smart
iglidur plain bearing consists of
two components: the internal,
lubrication-free iglidur material
and an outer hard polymer shell
that protects the bearing.
"The customer can choose the
material that is most suitable for
their application. The complete
range of iglidur materials
are available to them", says
Loockmann-Rittich
In order to measure the amount
of wear, an intelligent sensor
is used between the two
components. The measured
data of the sensor can be
integrated by the machine and
equipment operators in their
systems in different ways.
For example, it is possible to
inform the operator about the
plain bearing's wear by means
of a warning light, where an
automatic cut-off is also a
possibility for integrated use
of the sensor data. For highend
applications, the data can
be sent directly to a control
system, which, after their
analysis, passes the data on to
a customised web interface via
the icom communication module
for the purposes of maintenance
and repair. In this way, the user
can plan maintenance and
replacement by means of a
terminal device of his choice.
MGB2 CLASSIC FROM
TREOTHAM
32 September 2019