Tough electric vehicle for off-road use

Reliable and maintenance-free bearing points thanks to iglidur plain bearings

Profile

What was needed:
plain bearings for adverse operating conditions

Requirements:
extremely reliable and weather-resistant bearing technology, with low maintenance requirements

Industry: electric vehicles

Success for the customer:
lubrication-free bearing points that guarantee the vehicle's operational capability even under difficult conditions.

Problem:

The use of conventional plain bearings would have been too prone to failure in the presence of dirt, salt water and extreme temperatures. The developers wanted to create a vehicle that offers the highest possible reliability.

Solution:

The application of iglidur plain bearings is maintenance-free and lubrication-free even in the adverse operating conditions of this electric vehicle. This makes the bearing points of the vehicle very tough.

Power pack with electric drive

LyteHorse Labs has developed a unique electric vehicle that is suitable for numerous applications. For example, at airports, in mining as well as in warehouses and industrial buildings and in the leisure sector. The vehicle is used for transporting people, carrying a payload and towing trailers. It is available with two or four-wheel drive and handles off-road driving with ease.

Designed for maximum reliability

A way had to be found to reduce the moving parts of the electric vehicle to a minimum and thus increase reliability. We could not achieve this with conventional plain bearings because they are susceptible to dirt, salt water and extreme temperatures. As the vehicle is often used in extreme conditions - desert heat, water, mud, dust - we were even more convinced that reducing the number of moving parts on our vehicle would be a unique selling point. In addition, the vehicle is exposed to strong forces when used off-road. The components must therefore also withstand jumps and impacts.

iglidur plain bearings performed best in the test

Initially, the vehicle was equipped with metal plain bearings. However, these could not withstand the stresses. As the developers wanted to develop a highly reliable vehicle, the metal plain bearings were therefore not a satisfactory solution. Nylon bushings were then inserted into the vehicle and tested. However, the wear was too high, so the developers did not feel safe using these bearings. So they decided to test iglidur plain bearings. A success. The maintenance-free and self-lubricating plain bearings withstood the harsh operating conditions without any problems.