Maintenance-free heavy-duty and fibre composite plain bearings

Developed for particularly high loads

Composite bearings are 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, a robust fibreglass fabric serves as the outer shell while an inner layer optimised for sliding properties reduces friction on the shaft.

The combination of these materials creates high-strength fibre composite plain bearings, which are primarily used in agricultural, construction and mining machinery. As our igutex composite bearings contain solid lubricants, they require no maintenance or additional lubrication. Incidentally, this also applies to our iglidur heavy-duty plain bearings. These also make regular lubrication superfluous and your bearing points maintenance-free.

What you will find on this page

Benefit from igutex composite bearings and iglidur plain bearings

Save costs and time

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

No loss lubrication

✅ No release of lubricants into the environment
✅ No loss lubrication for wear protection
✅ No central lubrication necessary

Developed for high loads

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

Our high-strength igutex fibre composite plain bearings

igutex TX1

Robust all-round material

Data sheet
igutex TX1 in the online shop

igutex TX3

For continuous operation at maximum 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 Base layer

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

igutex fibre composite plain bearings are used here

Minimised maintenance

Thanks to the self-lubricating igutex TX1 fibre composite bearing, crane manufacturer Tan Cang Gantry has been able to minimise maintenance costs and time for its customers. Lack of lubrication is no longer a risk.

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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 axes. Even when driving through mud, slush and bog, the igutex plain bearings are reliable.

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Lubrication costs saved

The Demarko company uses igutex composite plain bearings in oscillating axes 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 A-Frame from Ship & Yacht Engineering Ltd. can lift loads up to 20t. Therefore, heavy-duty plain bearings that are suitable for high loads were required. For use on the high seas, they also had to be weatherproof.

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Our iglidur heavy-duty plain bearing

iglidur Q3E - heavy-duty 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 while keeping wear to a minimum.

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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 entering the bearing point and causing damage. In laboratory tests, plain bearings with a felt seal lasted 50 times longer than those without.

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iglidur Q2 plain bearing for high load capacity

iglidur Q2 plain bearings stand for high load capacity and good abrasion resistance. The plain bearing offers an excellent price-performance ratio. Solid lubricants in the plain bearing material lower the coefficient of friction and reduce wear. Q2 plain bearings are specially developed for heavy-duty swivel applications.

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What is special about iglidur plain bearings?

Plain bearing bearing with construction machine

iglidur plain 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 plain 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 makes lubrication superfluous and prevents high costs for 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 65m to the surface and can lift up to 5t 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. As the iglidur plain bearings are very strong, the reliability has also been significantly improved.

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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 over phone or 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 the industry
Sustainable product development
Test results of different plain bearing types
Application examples from practice

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Free white paper

Download our white paper "Important success factors for lubrication-free bearing points in construction machinery" now.
Find out more about these topics:

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
What to bear in mind when switching to dry-running plain bearings

Download now for free (PDF)