No more lubricating: For balers, loader wagons, manure spreaders, tippers, and field sprayers, Rockinger Agriculture GmbH is developing a ball coupling called the KS80 using an iglidur series high-performance plastic that igus developed specifically for the company. The coupling consists of a coupling ball and claw installed in the height adjustment system.
As usual, the coupling claw is positioned on the ball head from above. It is secured against inadvertent decoupling with a hold-down device and creates a clearance-free connection. What is special about this coupling becomes apparent only upon inspection of the inside of the coupling claw. It contains a wear insert made of high-performance plastic whose wear resistance has been proven in laboratory tests.
In a fatigue test, the inserts survived two million load changes – with a support load of 4.5 tons. Rockinger Agriculture GmbH calculates that if a third of the tractors in Germany were equipped with a KS80 and wear insert, around 8,300 couplings would require no lubrication. Eight tons of grease could be saved each year.
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