Light and vibration-dampening: bearings in handle dispensers for containers

Profile

• What was needed: Plain bearings made of the materials iglidur G and J
• Requirements: Low weight, space-saving, reduced manufacturing costs, low friction values, increased service life, freedom from lubrication, maintenance-free and vibration dampening
• Industry: Packaging industry, beverage packaging
• Success for the customer: In the pressure sensor system and as roller bearing, the iglidur plain bearings absorb high forces and shocks without any problems. Among other things, they offer a low weight with larger inner diameters than ball bearings, are self-lubricating and insensitive to dirt and dust.

Application head of the "Innopack CSM" handle dispenser

Problem

The "Innopack CSM" (Carry Strip Master) from KHS Maschinen- und Anlagenbau AG provides containers of all kinds with a handle - from shrink-wrapped cans and PET bottles with and without contours to tetra packs and tray packs. The highly dynamically driven application head, which must be as light and small as possible, is an essential component. The application head of the completely new "Innopack CSM" developed by KHS starts spontaneously as required via a simple pressure sensor system and provides up to 70 containers per minute with a handle. Processing can be carried out in one, two or three lanes - up to 210 containers per minute are possible.
In order to guarantee the high dynamics and positioning accuracy required in operation, the application head was subject to further requirements in addition to the design criteria of "lightweight" and "space-saving": Reduced manufacturing costs, low friction values, increased service life, freedom from lubricants, freedom from maintenance and vibration dampening. The design engineers at KHS were convinced that there was no way around plain bearings and rod ends made of plastic.

Solution

The application head today features several plain bearing applications that absorb high forces and shocks. The bearings are found first in the pivot point for the pressure sensor system and second serve as roller bearings.
Specifically, these are bearings from the iglidur G family, which weigh only little and have larger inner diameters than ball bearings. The economical all-rounders withstand extremely high loads and operate at low to medium surface speeds. The self-lubricating effect makes them maintenance-free in dry operation and insensitive to dust and dirt. As with all iglidur plain bearings, the high-performance material used is composed of base polymer, fibres and fillers as well as solid lubricants. These components ensure that the coefficient of friction and the specific coefficient of wear are set as low as possible. The iglidur G plain bearings also have a good resistance to chemicals. Most lubricants cannot harm them. The same applies to many weak organic and inorganic acids. In addition, iglidur J plain bearings have a particularly low moisture absorption and low coefficients of friction.  The specialist for fast and slow movements ensures very low friction values and the lowest stick-slip tendency in the "Innopack CSM". It is recommended for applications with medium compressive forces - at high speeds and high wear resistance.