When things have to move fast: igus FastLine delivers injection-molded special plain bearings in 7 days

When market demand for a product is high, manufacturers and their suppliers are in demand. Customized parts, such as plain bearings in special shapes, must be delivered quickly and without complications. However, it is not uncommon for the production of special parts by injection molding to take several weeks. The plastics specialist igus therefore now offers its customers a FastLine service thanks to its expanded in-house toolmaking department. Thus, lubricant-free plastic plain bearings in special dimensions can be delivered at cost-effective part prices within just a few days.

When the production of the wear-resistant special plain bearing has to be fast, many users think either of 3D printing or milling the desired parts from the semi-finished product. But for large series of 1,000 parts and more, both processes are too expensive in the long run. Therefore, igus now offers the production of cost-effective and highly wear-resistant plain bearings in special dimensions from injection molding with its FastLine service. In this way, series can be produced and shipped to the user within just a few days. “By investing in our tool shop with its own production line for round parts with modern CNC technology, we are now able to respond even faster to our customers’ needs,” explains Stefan Loockmann-Rittich, Business Unit Manager iglidur at igus GmbH. “In addition to our large catalog range of polymer plain bearings, which are available from stock, we can produce customer-specific parts cost-effectively in just a few days using the appropriate injection molding tool.”

Printed, milled or injection molded?

But how does the customer find out when injection molding is worthwhile, or whether another manufacturing process is not more favorable? For this purpose, igus offers the iglidur Designer. In the online tool, the customer can simply enter the dimensions of his plain bearing, select the desired material, define the quantity and is directly shown an overview of the manufacturing processes with the corresponding costs.

Fast delivery of special plain bearings for ergometer series

The FastLine service was also used by ergoline GmbH. The ergometer manufacturer was looking for a suitable maintenance-free plain bearing solution for the height adjustment of its new series. The plain bearings in standard dimensions were out of the question due to special inner and outer diameters. The first tests were successfully made with turned bearings made of iglidur semi-finished products, but it had to be fast for the start of series production due to the high demand on the market. “Six weeks for a regular tool were too long for us, and permanently turning bearings from semi-finished products was too time-consuming and too expensive,” explains Dominik Huber, developer at ergoline GmbH. “Therefore, we were very happy about the igus FastLine service. From the order to the delivery, just four days passed. And the price is cheaper than expected by a factor of three.” Since the injection mold was stocked, ergoline can also benefit from the cost-effective injection molding of its parts in the future.

For more information, please visit: https://www.igus.de/