Plastic Ball Bearings, Conveyor Rollers, and Ball Transfer Units that are Grease-Free

A: xiros® is a trademark name by igus® and it is the name we give to our polymer ball bearing product line. Historically, igus was known for sliding bearings rather than the rolling balls found within a ball bearing, but after many years of material development and testing, the xiros product group was launched. We currently offer deep groove radial ball bearings, axial ball bearings, ball transfers, & slewing rings, as well as labeling and guide rollers.

A: xiros® bearings are offered by igus® and selected by our customers in order to solve application issues in a way that provides longer life over plain bearing or metallic solutions, while also often being cost-effective. xiros, being made of polymer races and stainless, glass, or polymer balls, require no additional lubrication. Many of our successful applications are in the food and packaging, automotive, and medical industries. We have versions for chemical resistance, FDA-compliance, high-temperature, ESD, underwater, and even non-magnetic with the use of glass balls.

A: xiros® bearings are continuously tested in our lab at our worldwide headquarters in Germany. We apply multiple loads, speeds, and sequences to detrmine the products' life expectancy for a range of sizes and use this data to build our online expert system. The expert system allows you to approximate the lifetime of the product based on the provided application details.

A: xiros® is made up of several components. If we just focus on the radial deep groove ball bearings, they are made up of a molded inner race, molded outer race, and a molded cage. We then assemble with either a stainless steel, glass, or polymer ball depending on the application. The design of the assembly is so that we are able to snap the bearing assemblies together and they can't become dismantled in the application. All molding and assembly happen in our factory in Cologne, Germany. We can make custom solutions in high volumes using this same method, and for lower-quantity solutions, we can machine using our plastic bar stock material.

A: Many of our xiros® materials are FDA-approved, for example our B180 and A500 materials combined with 316 stainless steel balls.

A: All of the xiros® bearings provide high wear resistance, but each material and design will offer a unique service life. Use the service life calculator to find out more, or contact igus to discuss your application further!

A: The most unique aspect of the product group is the materials used to create them. The special materials allow the ball bearings to be used in specialty applications where other solutions fail prematurely. The materials are completely maintenance-free, requiring no external lubrication, are lighter weight, and in many cases, can offer a cost savings.

A: You can use the xiros expert for guide rollers. This requires some simple inputs such as diameters and lengths, along with load and speed. The system will give you a list of suitable parts given the provided information.

A: We can supply shafts in all materials, from aluminum to stainless steel. Shafts can be supplied as a standard length, or machined to suit with additional threads/keyways, etc. Check out our drylin linear shafting product pages!

A: Yes we can - we would need to discuss the application in detail with you, looking at the overall speeds and loads to determine if a longer roller can be produced. Deflection will also be an important thing to consider here.

A: Due to the manufacturing process, different rules apply to the measurement as well as the installation compared to metal or ceramic ball bearings. The outer ring of the polymer ball bearings has a conical shape. This simplifies the installation in a suitable housing (with the narrow side first). After press-fit into a housing machined to an H7 tolerance, the bearing clearance is reduced. Therefore, the ball bearings must be measured over the entire width; starting at an angle of 90 from the injection point.

A: The DIN 625 specifies the dimensions for single row radial deep groove ball bearings. It is the best known standard in the rolling bearing sector.

A: It depends on the bearing, but when the following issues occur, the bearings need to be changed:

A: xiros bearings are being used in many industries and applications. Some examples include x-ray and medical devices (non-magnetic and FDA-approved), pellet stoves (high temperature properties), pool cleaners (corrosion-resistant and low moisture absorption), and labeling machines (low friction and lightweight).