If you work with linear bearings, factory environments that have a lot of dust, metal chips or other particulates can be a nightmare. If these contaminants get inside the raceways, the bearing can fail prematurely—causing time-consuming and costly downtime for your application.
The good news is IKO linear bearings have built-in features that guard against contamination. Consider the following options:
C-Wiper. As the bearing moves, a dust-protective C-Wiper creates a barrier between the outside environment and rolling elements, adding an extra layer of sealing protection. Mounted to the outside of the end seal, the C-Wiper ensures operation in environments where metal chips are spattering. After 1,000 km of operation during durability tests, the C-Wiper prevented foreign substances from entering the slide unit with no damage to the end seal. C-Wipers are available on roller-type bearings only.
Rail caps. Most rails contain mounting holes, which can easily become filled with foreign particulates. Inserting plastic, aluminum or brass caps prevents substances from entering into the slide unit. Another solution is to eliminate mounting holes altogether. Some sizes and series have a bottom-mount option.
Sheets, plates and scrapers. Rail cover sheets, which consist of adhesive tape and steel plates, can be fastened to the groove on the surface of the rail to prevent materials from getting inside. To that end, you can use cover plates to guard the entire surface. Mounted to the outside of the end seal, scrapers remove larger chips and particulates that stick to the rail.
Depending on how extreme your environment is, you may require more than one design feature to effectively guard your linear bearings against contaminants.
