Robust and low-maintenance -
plain bearings in a track vehicle

• What was needed: plain bearings for a track vehicle
• Manufacturing process: injection moulding
• Requirements: heavy loads, wear-resistant, low-maintenance, dirt-resistant
• Material: iglidur® TX1
• Industry: all-terrain vehicle
• Success through collaboration: Fast delivery, cost-effective manufacture of customer-specific functional components

Transporting drill assemblies, cranes, lifting platforms, and excavators through tough terrain is the task of the PowerBully track vehicle made by Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, based in Laupheim, Germany. All components must be absolutely reliable and able to handle trips through mud and mire. There must be no failures, since the nearest road is often kilometres away.

 

The plain bearing used must be able to handle heavy loads

Problem

All-terrain vehicles are designed for rough terrain. Despite extensive sealing, dirt still sometimes reaches the undercarriage bearing points. If the bearings then seize, the vehicle could throw a track.

Solution

To prevent that, the vehicle manufacturers use iglidur® TX1 plain bearing bushes on the four oscillating axles and the tensioning axle. igus® manufactured the bushes specifically for Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG in unprecedented dimensions and tested them.