Spherical bearings are bearings designed to accommodate rods or shafts with differing amounts of misalignment. They can manage high radial loads and performance consistently under conditions of critical-application stress, extreme speed, and marginal lubrication.

Often spherical plain bearings are made up of a plain bearing and ball bushing housed in a lined, cylindrical enclosure that provides self-lubrication or minimizes friction. There are also lubrication-free spherical bearings available.

There are both metal as well as non-metal spherical bearings. The former category is made up of iron, bronze or steel; and the latter of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), nylon or plastic. Igus is a globally established German firm which is one of the reliable spherical bearing system manufacturers online in India.

Its range of spherical bearing products are maintenance-free. Made out of specially developed polymers, these can function without any lubrication at all, with very low friction. Its range of spherical bearing products are marketed under the trade name- igubal® spherical bearings.

These products are suitable for various applications involving high alternating loads, very high radial loads (with one-sided load direction), swivel movements, and high shock loads. These applications include Railway station construction, Railway engineering, Bridge building, Hydraulic steel structures, Construction machinery, Rolling mills, Power generation, Wind turbines, Roof designs, Gear drives, Oil field exploration, Mining and aggregate processing, and automobile and aerospace industry.

Being one of the reliable spherical bearing system manufacturers online in India, Igus makes polymer spherical bearings that are 80% lighter and 40% more cost-effective than metal bearings. These are also incorporated with useful features including dirt- resistance, long service life, maintenance-free, very little clearance, corrosion- resistance, light-weight, chemical-resistance, self-alignment, robustness and vibration-dampening.

Further, these bearings also come with the characteristic of efficient functioning in liquid media, which is imparted by their lubrication-free property. Additionally, there are products that have been designed to function in temperature ranges between -30 to +80 degree Celsius, and those that can operate in temperature as high as +200 degree Celsius.

There are currently 198 spherical bearing products listed by Igus, one of the most trusted spherical bearing system manufacturers online in India. Each igubal® spherical bearing product comes with its own set of desirable features. For instance, one of its product spherical bearing product, Spherical bearing KGLM, W300, igubal®, has the following features-

Suitable for oscillating, rotating and axial movements

Spherical ball material: iglidur® W300

Housing material: igumid G

Corrosion-resistant

Misalignment and edge loads compensation

Excellent vibration dampening

Technical data of igubal® spherical bearings

You would have noticed the mentioned of polymer materials like iglidur® W300 and igumid G in the previous product specifications. These are special types of polymers developed by Igus. Iglidur® W300, with which the spherical balls are composed of, is a thermoplastic alloy, which is ductile (ability to be drawn into a thin wire) and tough.

Its other specialties are lowest friction coefficient and an outstandingly low stick-slip effect. Low stick-slip effect is of utmost importance in applications with eminently slow movements and low loads.

So, iglidur® W300l offers excellent chemical resistance; outstanding wear resistance; high holding times; suitability for oscillating, rotary and linear movements; toughness in high-frequency angular movements; vibration dampening; maintenance-free dry operation; suitability for soft shafts; and very low coefficients of surface friction in dry operation.

Likewise, the housings of igubal® spherical bearings are made of igumid G and iguton G- two special polymers developed by Igus. iguton G is used for making high temperature spherical bearings (temperatures from +80°C to +200°C), while igumid G is used to make other spherical bearings.

iguton G is a reinforced long-fiber known for its corrosion resistance, high impact-resistance, lightweight, shape stability, high mechanical stability, shock resistance, impact resistance and chemical resistance. These make it the perfect housing material for iglidur® w300 spherical balls.

Other than spherical bearings, Igus also manufactures other bearing types, drag chains, bar stocks, cables, linear guides, cable protection accessories, and robotic components.