The trip is over and
"iglidur on tour" has become history. And in what a manner! The
orange convertible travelled for over a year and covered more than 100,000
kilometres in four continents. It crossed dusty deserts and visited megacities,
braved cold and wet, negotiated potholes in India as well as icy roads in
Norway. The mission of the small car: to demonstrate the resilience of the
lubrication-free and maintenance-free plain bearings from the motion plastics
specialists, igus. Now the Cologne company is drafting a résumé of the one-year
journey.
The 'iglidur on tour'
vehicle was equipped with igus components in 56 bearing points: the brake
pedal, wipers and window mechanism, in the alternator, the seat console, the
handbrake, the convertible roof and the carburettor. In January 2014, the long
journey began; the convertible visited customers, exhibitions and igus offices
worldwide. The first stop was India, where a total of 5,000 km was covered, and
in the meantime visited more than 80 customers. Further stops included China,
South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, before it was time for the World Cup in Brazil.
After driving through Canada and the United States, the tour traversed Europe,
going through France, Great Britain, Poland, Spain, and hardly any country was
left out. One day the vehicle was in Switzerland, and in Norway soon after.
Caption: Back in Cologne, the
rebuilt parts such as the power windows were removed and the bearings checked
for wear.
iglidur on tour live
at the Hannover Messe
The tour concluded at
the 2015 Hannover Messe. The components of the vehicle were exhibited on site,
where the team led by Karl Weinmeister narrated the experiences of the tour to
the visitors. Prior to this occasion, the plain bearings were removed and
tested extensively for wear. The result of the one-off stress test was clear,
albeit not entirely unexpected. "None of the 56 bearings installed showed
any severe sign of wear," says Gerhard Baus, authorised representative for
plain bearing technology at igus. "But we were sure that the plain
bearings would withstand the most diverse range of applications and conditions.
The reason for it is not only our long experience in the field of motion
plastics, but also the test laboratory in which we carry out more than 10,000
tribological tests a year. In doing so, we give the customer a predictable and
tested reliability for his application."
Every second bearing
goes to the automotive industry
Around the world, the
"iglidur on tour" team asked customers why they chose igus for
'motion plastics'. Among the most frequently mentioned reasons for the choice,
the self-lubricating properties of the material and the associated freedom from
maintenance, or the resistance to moisture and dirt were prominent. The
customers from the automotive sector subjected the small car to close scrutiny.
Here the low weight of the polymeric material is considered as a decisive
advantage. iglidur plain bearings reduce the weight in each bearing point by a
factor of 7, if they replace metallic bearings.
Caption: The first stop of the
100,000-kilometre drive was the AutoExpo in New Delhi. Around 5000 kilometres
were covered on the Indian subcontinent alone.
The "iglidur on
tour" team has now covered over 100,000 kilometres in 14 months. "It
was a great adventure for us too, as a team," says Karl Weinmeister.
"We have come to know so many different applications and industries in
which motion plastics from igus are used, as well as the different countries
and cultures." For each kilometre covered, igus GmbH and its regional
offices donated one Euro to charitable projects in the respective regions. Even
though the official part of the tour is over, you might be seeing the small
orange car from Cologne on the streets.
For more information
on e-shell please visit:
About igus India
igus® operations in
India started in the year 1998 with head quarters in Bangalore. igus offers
widest range of products that includes polymer bearings, igubal® spherical
bearings, cable tray, DryLin® linear
bearings & guide systems enable them to serve the whole industrial
establishments in India from a small work shop to huge industrial
establishments.
More Details Contact:
Harish Booshan
Product Manager
E-ChainSystems® &
ReadyChains®
igus (India) Private
Limited
36/1, Sy. No. 17/3
Euro School Road,
Dodda Nekkundi
Industrial Area - 2nd Stage
Mahadevapura Post
Bangalore - 560048
Phone :
+91-80-49127809 (Direct)
Visit us on http://www.igus.in
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