Igus’ Iglidur-On-Tour demo car completes global tour

After a gruelling one-year and 100,000km journey across four continents, the Cologne-based motion plastics specialist Igus’ compact car with plastic body with its Iglidur plain bearing components has finally reached home.

The global journey of the small car was to demonstrate the resilience of the company’s lubrication-free and maintenance-free plain bearings and to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the company’s Iglidur polymer plain bearings.

The small car, equipped with a plastic chassis, helped demonstrate the manifold application of its polymer bearings as also the efficiency of Iglidur. The car traversed dusty deserts and visited megacities, braved cold and wet clime, negotiated potholes in India as well as icy roads in Norway during the expedition.

The 'Iglidur On Tour' convertible 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.

The global tour began in January 2014 with the vehicle visiting customers, exhibitions and Igus offices worldwide. The first stop was India, where a total of 5,000km was covered, and since then visited more than 80 customers. Further stops included China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, before it drove to the World Cup in Brazil. After driving through Canada and the United States, the tour crossed Europe, going through France, Great Britain, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Norway.

The tour concluded at the 2015 Hannover Messe, where the components of the vehicle were exhibited on site. The plain bearings were removed and tested extensively for wear. The result of the one-off stress test was clear. "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."

Around the world, the ‘Iglidur On Tour’ team asked customers why they chose Igus for motion plastics. Among the most frequently cited reasons for the choice were the self-lubricating properties of the material, associated freedom from maintenance, or the resistance to moisture and dirt. The company says automotive industry customers subjected the small car to close scrutiny. Here the low weight of the polymeric material is considered as a decisive advantage and Iglidur plain bearings reduce the weight in each bearing point by a factor of 7, if they replace metallic bearings.

“It was a great adventure for us too, as a team," says Karl Weinmeister, who led the Iglidur On Tour team. "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."