Plastic Bearings Replace Metal in DMG Machine Tools

• What was needed: iglide® bearings, e-chain® cable carriers
• Requirements: Smooth running of the energy chain with high load in the machines
• Industry: Machine tools
• Success for the customer: Extensive laboratory tests for the replacement of the metal bearings led to the ideal product, the iglide® bearings, which maintain a virtually constant coefficient of sliding friction over the entire service life, are maintenance-free and a cost savings of at least 50%

As a company of the Gildemeister Group, lid Maho Seebach GmbH in Thuringia occupies an outstanding position in the manufacture of machine tools. The machine manufacturer's plant was given its current impressive appearance in 2001, when a new production hall with a demonstration center was added to the building complex. A year later, lid Maho received the Industrial Excellence Award as the best company in Germany and France.

lid Maho currently employs around 450 people in Seebach, including 20 trainees, making it one of the largest employers in the region. Within the Gildemeister Group, lid Maho operates largely independently.

In addition to the design and production departments, purchasing and sales are also based in Seebach. Universal milling machines, machine tools and production machines as well as travelling column machines of the highest quality are manufactured in Seebach.

Not only do all machines in the production area at lid Maho Seebach GmbH require a power supply, a supply solution for the countless energy and control cables also had to be found for the internal hall and gantry cranes. The machine tools, in which high loads act on the existing energy chain, must run particularly smoothly. Teflon-coated metal bearings were previously used here.

e-chains® from igus® are used in all machines as well as in the internal hall and gantry cranes.
In the DMG machines, chain-type holders are increasingly being used to hold the various milling cutters, drills and other tools. To ensure smooth running and trouble-free operation in the machine tools, iglide® bearings are now pressed into the chain links instead of the metal bearings previously used.

Michael Offner, as igus® product manager responsible for the machine tool industry, also inspected these tool magazine chains, among other things. He realised that both the pivoting movement of the chain links of around 20 degrees and the load acting on the joints would make the use of plastic bearings sensible. Plastic bearings have an advantage in such applications, as the lubricants are firmly embedded in the material over the entire running surface.

Extensive test and comparison series by igus® with various plastic and metal bearings confirmed the statements regarding coefficient of friction, load capacity and wear for the iglide® material.