Dry-running bearings in dust and moisture in foot pedals for agricultural machinery

• What was needed: iglide J plain bearing
• Requirements: Difficult environmental conditions in driver's cabs, characterized by dust, humidity, temperature changes, aggressive cleaning agents and loads from diesel or fertilizers; long-term reliability and durability
• Industry: Agricultural and construction machinery
• Success for the customer: iglide® bearings do not have to be lubricated and guarantee optimum friction and wear values over the entire service life; no dirt and grime can stick to the bearing points by dispensing with lubricants; low wall thickness requires little installation space in the application; significantly lower price

The environmental conditions in the cabs of agricultural and construction machinery are difficult: dust, humidity, temperature changes, aggressive cleaning agents and loads from diesel or fertilisers. This is where the products of Sensata Technologies GmbH come into play. With 22,000 employees, Sensata is one of the leading manufacturers of sensors and products for human-machine interfaces, such as motorbike grips, joysticks, control units for construction and agricultural machinery, cranes and lifting platforms, as well as foot pedals. Foot pedals in particular have to withstand extreme loads caused by foreign substances and moisture. In some places, the pedals can even be several centimeters deep in gravel.

Despite these conditions, it is of course essential for the components used that users can rely on their reliable operation. Moving parts in particular, such as foot pedals, must always be easy to operate.

The customers of Sensta Technologies GmbH, a manufacturer of agricultural and construction machinery, always demand long-term reliability and durability. The complete unit must last a long time, which Sensata promises its customers.

iglide® J bearings have been used in the company's foot pedals for over ten years. This is regarded as an inexpensive but at the same time very versatile endurance runner that is very wear-resistant on a wide variety of shafts. This is a great advantage, as the mating partner here is a plastic shaft, which is rather unusual. Normally, heat development can be a challenge with this pairing. However, this can be neglected in this application due to the low rotational speed.

Unlike metal bearings, the plastic plain bearings from igus® do not need to be lubricated with oils or greases. The solid lubricants, which are homogeneously distributed in the bearing, are released by micro-abrasion and distributed on the mating partner, creating a self-lubricating effect. This ensures optimum friction and wear values over the entire service life. By dispensing with conventional lubricants, dirt and grime cannot stick to the bearing points. In addition to the significantly lower price, another decisive advantage was that the plastic plain bearings require less installation space than sintered bearings due to their reduced wall thickness.