igus® bearings ensure a maintenance-free bottling system

Lubrication-free polymer bearings from igus® increase efficiency at the Chimay Trappist beer brewery in Belgium

The renowned Belgian brewery Chimay, known for its traditional Trappist beer, relies on maintenance-free spherical bearings from igus in its bottling plant. By replacing rusty, seized ball bearings with lubrication-free igubal H3 bearing inserts, the brewery was able to increase efficiency and reduce maintenance.

The Chimay Brewery is one of twelve breweries in the world that produces Trappist beer, made by monks. Interestingly, the majority of their profits are intended for social projects . Brewed at Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey in the Belgian province of Hainaut, Chimay produced around 18.5 megalitres of beer in 2018. The high production requirements posed special challenges for the bottling plants, especially due to frequent failures and the seizing of conventional metallic ball bearings to shafts. The replacement of a defective ball bearing could take up to one and a half days, which unfortunately led to production losses. As part of a project to optimise the filling lines, Chimay turned to igus® to find a permanent solution to this problem. After an extensive series of tests and optimisations, the igubal H3 bearing proved to be the optimal choice and since the changeover in September 2022, these bearings have shown very little wear.

Lubrication-free, safe and easy to clean

The igubal H3 bearings offer many advantages that significantly improve the brewery's production process. They are made of tribologically optimized high-performance plastics. This makes them lubrication-free, maintenance-free and corrosion resistant. Even at speeds of 200 rpm, the bearing material is working well within design limits. The igubal bearing inserts are much easier to install and replace than metal ball bearings, which drastically reduces maintenance times. In addition, there is no longer any wear-related shaft damage, which extends the service life of the entire system. Another advantage is the high resistance of the igubal H3 bearing inserts to chemicals. Despite regular cleaning processes, they show no signs of damage. Due to these characteristics, the line achieves an impressive speed of 55,000 bottles per hour. After a successful test phase on three different production conveyors, Chimay has already ordered 150 additional bearing inserts to replace the remaining ball bearings. "With the igubal H3 bearings, we have been able to solve the most important problem on our conveyor systems and significantly extend the service life of our systems," says Vivien De Schryver, maintenance technician at Chimay.

Caption:

Chimay brewery was able to significantly increase its efficiency and reduce maintenance costs by choosing igus® bearings. (Source: igus)

The igubal H3 bearing inserts (in grey) replace metallic ball bearings even at speeds of 200 rpm. (Source: igus)

PRESS CONTACT:

Alexa Heinzelmann

Head of International Marketing

igus® GmbH

Spicher Str. 1a

51147 Cologne

Tel. 0 22 03 / 96 49-7272

[email protected]

www.igus.eu/press

ABOUT IGUS:

igus GmbH develops and produces motion plastics. These lubrication-free, high-performance polymers improve technology and reduce costs wherever things move. In energy supplies, highly flexible cables, plain and linear bearings as well as lead screw technology made of tribo-polymers, igus is the worldwide market leader. The family-run company based in Cologne, Germany, is represented in 31 countries and employs around 5,000 people across the globe. In 2023, igus generated a turnover of €1,136 billion. Research in the industry's largest test laboratories constantly yields innovations and more security for users. 243,000 articles are available from stock and the service life can be calculated online. In recent years, the company has expanded by creating internal startups, e.g. for ball bearings, robot drives, 3D printing, the RBTX platform for Lean Robotics and intelligent "smart plastics" for Industry 4.0. Among the most important environmental investments are the "chainge" programme – recycling of used e-chains - and the participation in an enterprise that produces oil from plastic waste.