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PT. igus® Indonesia

Taman Tekno BSD

Sektor XI, Blok L1 No. 15

Tangerang Selatan 15314

+62 21 7588 1933

+62 21 7588 1932

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Lightweight and robust polymer bearing technology for Moon Buggy in NASA competition

Plastic bearing technology helps young designers win NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

NASA's international Great Moonbuggy Race is an annual event in which young design engineers compete against each other with their vehicles. On the very demanding hilly parkour, the teams are confronted with challenges very similar to those on the surface of Mars. Here, very light, resistant polymer bearing technology helped the young designers on the NASA Space Education Team from Leipzig to victory.

Profile

What was needed: Polymer bearing technology in various places in the buggy such as the differential gear and wheel suspension
Requirements: the bearing technology had to be lightweight and able to withstand constant high forces.
Industry: aerospace
Success for the customer: the plastic bearing technology contributed to the young designers' trip to the top of the podium with their buggy. The bright orange igus Moonbuggy was in the permanent exhibition at the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, next to the original Moonbuggy, for one year.

Problem

The Great Moonbuggy Race is a competition in which four-wheeled buggies from all over the world compete against each other on NASA's testing track. The course reflects the conditions on the Moon's surface. This hilly landscape constitutes a major challenge for teams and materials alike. Racing against time demands a great deal of muscle power that is transmitted to the four wheels through the gearbox. Speeds of up to 80km/h exert extreme force on these vehicle components far beyond the demands placed on normal bicycles.

Solution

It is precisely at these places that plastic bearings meet these demands while providing the buggy with clear weight savings. As early as last year, the young designers primarily used materials of the future and gained experience with plastic bearings. The bearings contributed to the buggy's first-place finish and its world champion title. Numerous lubrication-free polymer plain bearings were used in buggy construction again this year. Several of them support the differential gears and the wheel suspension, to mention just two examples.

Overview of iglidur plastic bearing technology

Overview of igubal plastic bearing technology

With their visit to Cologne, the NASA Space Education Team from Leipzig were able to gain insights into where their bearings come from and how they are manufactured and tested to enable them to withstand even those conditions prevailing in the Moonbuggy.
The many new impressions they gained during their visit here immediately gave them many new ideas. The plans are for even more metal components to be replaced with plastic solutions in the new Moonbuggy.

We are very pleased about this. Thanks to young and courageous developers and constructors like these, plastics will take on an increasingly important role in future and provide many new innovative solutions and applications.