Test laboratory for polymer ball bearings

Through our test laboratory for plastic ball bearings, we generate knowledge that is essential for our new and further product developments. Our customers also benefit even more because we pool our experience and test results in our online tool. These help us to select the right product for our customers' individual applications.

In the video you can see which ball bearing types we test: from deep groove ball bearings, thrust bearings, conveyor rollers, ball transfer units to other types and special parts.

This is what awaits you on our test laboratory page:

test rig in the ball bearing test laboratory

Radial deep groove ball bearing test rig:

Test rigs with integrated sensors (DAQ) for simultaneous measurement of wear, load absorption up to 250 N, various service life and temperature tests
max. speed: 5,000 rpm
Movement: Outer ring stops, inner ring rotates
installation size: 6000

Rotation test rig:

Tests at high speed and low loads (5,000 rpm, 10 N)
Ongoing tests with in-house xirodur® materials and iglidur® cage materials
installation size: 6000

Influence of the cage material on ball bearing wear

The difficulty lies in the fact that high speeds (e.g. 2,000 rpm) lead to high centrifugal forces of the balls. This accelerates the balls outwards. The cage material requires a certain strength, as otherwise the cage pockets expand and the balls have more clearance or freedom of movement. The fact that the balls can no longer hold themselves correctly in position leads to increased wear and correspondingly earlier failure of the bearing. In addition to reinforcing materials, which increase the strength of the cage material, sliding friction occurs between the balls and the cage. Solid lubricants improve the sliding behaviour. For these reasons, we use iglidur ® materials for a cage material. These contain improved additives to improve the strength and sliding properties.

Stainless steel balls were used for the tests.

Left: unreinforced material, before test
Right: unreinforced material, after test

Parameters: 25 N, 2,000 rpm, running time 7 days

Left: reinforced iglidur® material, before test
Right: reinforced iglidur® material, after test

Parameters: 25 N, 2,000 rpm, running time 7 days

Ball bearings under water: igus® vs. metal bearings

igus® has the world's largest test laboratory for plastic in moving applications in Cologne with around 12,000 tests per year. These include, for example, tests that demand everything from a wide variety of materials under the most adverse conditions. In this test, a xiros flanged ball bearing is pitted against its metallic counterpart in a salt water test. Two ball bearings under water: who will win?

Test setup

The test set-up was as follows: a container was filled with sea salt water and heated to +80 °C. Two ball bearings, a conventional metal flange bearing and a xiros flange ball bearing made of xirodur® B180, were then placed in the salt solution for 120 hours. With the xirodur® B180 material, igus® has a high-performance plastic that has been subjected to numerous tests and further developed over many years. In order to accelerate the corrosion process, both ball bearings were not fully immersed in the salt water bath and were in contact with the air.

Metallic bearing corrodes after just a few hours

The xiros plastic flanged ball bearing emerged as the clear winner from the comparison, as the metal bearing corroded after just a few hours. Rust settled on every component of the bearing. The plastic ball bearing, on the other hand, remained completely unaffected by the aggressive salt water environment and the high temperature. Rust or colour changes to the material? Not a thing!

The xiros bearing is therefore particularly suitable for applications in cleanrooms or the medical and food industries. As a rule, the ball bearings consist of four components, comprising an inner and outer ring, cage and balls as rolling elements made of stainless steel or glass. The most important technical advantage of xiros plastic ball bearings over their metal counterparts is their hygienic dry operation, which means that our ball bearings do not require a single drop of lubricating oil. The question about the service life of xiros ball bearings can be answered with our online service life calculator.

Ball bearings under water: the test result

Which ball bearings are suitable for electroplating?

The electroplating process places very high demands on the materials used in electroplating systems. In electroplating, electricity is sent through an electrolytic bath. The metal to be plated (e.g. copper or nickel) is located at the positive pole and the object to be plated at the negative pole. As this is an electrochemical process that usually involves the use of strong chemicals in the electroplating bath, metallic ball bearings are not suitable. If ball bearings are used, they are usually made of plastic. Ball bearings made of technical ceramics can also be used, but these are significantly more expensive to purchase. Below: plastic vs. metal in an electroplating bath.

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Hennlich OOD | Хенлих ООД+359 32 621929 Write e-mail

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