Minimal and green: a recycled slewing ring bearing from igus for only £55

28/09/2023

igus’ new ready-to-install, low-cost PRT slewing ring bearing, PRT-05-15-PC, is made of regranulated high-performance plastics

Affordable, compact, lightweight, and ready to install with just one click: igus’s slewing ring bearings in the iglidur PRT series now have a minimal, low-cost variant. PRT-05-15-PC is both low on price and good for the environment, being made of 97% regranulated high-performance plastics.

Slewing ring bearings are used for a myriad of rotational movement applications, from the packaging machine to the assembly line to the operating table. But for many bearing points that have low loads, such as in furniture construction or display technology, the bearings are often oversized and too expensive, meaning that metal ball bearings are often used here. The problem is that these rolling bearings often take up space and cause extra assembly effort because they often require fitting. They also need a lot of maintenance, as permanent lubrication is needed.

“To counter these disadvantages, we have expanded our slewing ring bearing portfolio with a ready-to-install low-cost variant,” says Rob Dumayne, director of drytech products at igus UK. And this new, minimal PRT-05-15-PC model is available for only £55. “Until now, a fairly inexpensive slewing ring bearing delivered ready for installation was hard to find on the market,” says Dumayne.

Simple design saves installation space, weight and costs

The design of the new slewing ring bearing follows the principles of minimalism. “Our goal was to produce a lightweight, compact and ready-to-install bearing from as few components as possible,” emphasizes Rob Dumayne. The new bearing consists of just an inner ring and an outer ring, which perform a sliding movement on top of each other without the need for rolling elements. It is manufactured using a cost-effective injection molding process made of 100% lightweight high-performance plastic, with zero metal content. And with a diameter of 100mm, the bearing is only 10mm high and weighs just 72 grams. Thanks to this reduced complexity, the new low-cost slewing ring bearing is not only compact and lightweight, but also quick to assemble. “All our employees have to do is plug the inner and outer rings together using a clip bearing. This allows us to offer stock to our customers at low cost,” explains Rob.

Low-cost slewing ring bearing consists of 97% recycled granules

PRT-05-15-PC is not good for both the budget and the environment, because the new bearing consists of 97% recycled material made of the high-performance plastics iglidur M260 and iglidur P4. These materials have already been processed, from for example, sprues from production. These recycled granulate makes it possible to save valuable plastic from incineration and to transfer them to a sustainable circular economy. Another environmentally-friendly benefit is that the plastic has integrated microscopically-small solid lubricants that are released during operation and enable low-friction, dry running with no lubricating grease. Every year, millions of tons of machinery lubricants pollute the environment worldwide. Last but not least, the new PRT bearing is durable, especially for outdoor use. The polymer bearings do not corrode and are simultaneously resistant to contamination by grease and dirt, so they don’t need to be replaced so often. “iglidur PRT-05-15-PC thus contributes to the UK’s and global sustainability drives,” says Dumayne.