Smooth-running and durable plain bearings in monitor pivot arms in hospitals

Monitor pivot arms that are easily adjustable thanks to iglide plain bearings mean happy patients

To patients in hospital, a day seems longer than 24 hours. Watching television and reading are often the most popular ways to pass the time. To enable the patient to conveniently position the TV for his or her sitting or lying position, more and more hospitals are equipping their stations with height-adjustable pivot arms simply mounted to the bedside table. What hardly anyone knows is that these pivot arms come from a family business in the Münster region. For smooth, hygienic arm adjustment, the mechanical engineering company has been relying for years on igus plain bearings.

Problem:

However, the first height-adjustable pivot arm developed in early 2000 was not for everyday office needs, but for medical technology. Siemens turned to a mechanical engineering company from the Münster region for this task, asking it for an individual solution for a TV/telephone system mount for patient beds in hospitals. The television arm had to move very smoothly and be individually adjustable so that the patient can orient the screen according to his individual needs with little effort. So the passionate designer developed a height-adjustable pivot arm.

For the television adjustment mechanism, it was looking for a plain bearing that would allow problem-free adjustment over a swivel arm swivel range from -18 to +38 degrees from the horizontal. The television support can also be tilted from -30 to +20 degrees. In order to implement these movements smoothly, the company relied primarily on lightweight components such as steel, aluminium and plastic in its design. Hygiene regulations in hospitals meant that the bearing point could not be lubricated. Plain bearings with a long service life have the great advantage that they require no replacement.

"The plain bearings not only have to be abrasion-resistant and durable, but also have a good price/performance ratio. And the company igus was able to do this to our satisfaction with iglide G"
 
Martina Schwering, Maschinenbau Schwering

Solution:

The search for arm bearings led the specialist directly to our bearing products. Since our bearings have been used in medium-sized company products for decades, leaving the customers completely satisfied, this decision was not a difficult one.  A total of eight plain bearings made of iglide G, a wear-resistant, high-performance plastic are used in each arm. Like all iglide polymers, the all-rounder material is self-lubricating so it requires no maintenance. Another consideration is noise intensity. The plain bearings are very quiet during motion whilst ensuring adequate support. The customer was also concerned with price.

The family business uses igus high-performance polymers not only in the height-adjustable pivot arm, but also in other television adjustments. For example, iglidur plain bearings and thrust washers are used for new monitor adjustment mechanisms in a large American phone company. In the new adjustment system, the monitor-turning mechanism uses an iglide W300 thrust washer. The self-lubricating endurance runner's main features are its low coefficients of friction, very long service life, and extremely high wear resistance. An iglide G plain bearing ensures that the device carrier tilts easily and quietly.