Solution
The spherical bearings used in the robot arms are
igubal rod end bearings, which are corrosion-resistant and withstand temperatures from -40 to +200 degrees Celsius. They are also resistant to media, UV rays, radioactive radiation, dirt and dust. And in contrast to their metal counterparts, the rod ends are able to absorb vibrations. The igubal rod end bearings are ideal for this application, because they are lightweight, cost-effective and very tough.
Once they have been installed, the tribo-polymer bearings no longer need any attention – thanks to their lubrication-free properties maintenance work is a thing of the past. In contrast to lubricated metal bearings, no resin residues or paste-like mixtures are formed that attract dirt to the bearing surface. The plain bearings of the igubal bearing elements can be used without any seals, even in extremely contaminated conditions. This is true for both fine dust and coarse dirt. Apart from that, polymer spherical plain bearings are up to 80 per cent lighter than metal bearings. In this case, twelve rod end bearings are installed per robot arm, which makes 24 such rod ends for two arms. This supports the lightweight construction considerably, and at the same time reduces energy consumption, which was an important criterion for the customer in this particular case due to the solar operation.