Flight simulator with maintenance-free polymer plain bearings wins national competition

• What was needed: iglidur ® plain bearing, plastic-energy chain
• Requirements: A maintenance-free and cost-effective bearing solution was sought.
• Industry: Aerospace, aviation industry
• Success for the customer: iglidur® bearings are lubrication- and maintenance-free. They allow high loads.

The winners of the jugend forscht competition in Baden Württemberg were able to beat the competition with their gliding simulator at the final round in Hamburg. The flight simulator is designed to give non-flyers a realistic insight into the world of gliding. This ambitious goal was supported with the help of an original aeroplane fuselage as well as a complex electronic control system for the simulator. It took just under a year from the idea in April 2006 to TÜV approval the following year. By then, the three inventors had overcome a number of safety hurdles and problems - such as the coupling of the motor to the motion axis.

Our iglidur ® bearings were able to help in many ways. Based on a lengthy consultation at the Motek 2006, the entire bearing positions of the simulator were equipped with the plastic plain bearings. The decisive factor in favour of the bearings made of the material iglidur ® was that they are maintenance-free, cost-effective and very easy to handle. Installation took only seconds and no special bearing seats had to be designed. In addition, an enormous axial load is also possible with the bearings. And should the wear be too high, the components can be replaced within a very short time. In addition to the plain bearings, our plastic-energy chain brought order to the tangle of cables created by the complex electronic control system. The cables could thus be bundled without losing flexibility, which was a fundamental requirement due to the rotation of the simulator.