A team of students from Desert Pointe Academy, a small high school in Arizona, replaced steel ball and bronze bearings with igus® polymer bearings to improve the performance of its solar boat. The team, one of the only high school level teams to compete at the World Championship Solar Splash, eliminated the problems of excessive weight, corrosion, and undue wear by using iglide® bearings.

Iglide T500 bearings were used to maintain the propeller shaft and to provide good radial support for rudder movement. Iglide M250 and igubal thrust washers were also used on the boat to keep the boat’s shaft centered, a vital part of preventing water from leaking around the shaft.

Last year Desert Pointe placed an impressive 4th out of 17 schools participating. The school attributes its success to the “intensely quiet, efficient, light, and effective” boat they were able to create with the help of igus.

Faculty Advisor Craig Woodman said, “We have decided to maintain these components as a permanent solution to our bearing needs.”