Should you be using IGUS polymer bushings?

I feel like igus has been catching way too much flak lately - at their core, they are good bearings, you just have to use them properly.

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[webza]

I have had great success with PLA printed bushings (IGUS style). What I have found to work great is to take a linear rod - insert the PLA printed bushing (this might be a very tight fit). Then heat the one end of the rod - I use the stoves gas flame. Then move the bushing up and down the rod - the heat will melt the PLA and it will size itself perfectly to the rod. No slop, perfect fit, super smooth.

[nolinchitnis]

Hi this is an interesting topic. I run my own firm Nolin CAD and we have been designing industrial machines including CNC machines for 8 years and before that I was working as a machine designer for 15 years. What I found out is the tolerance requirements for IGUS bearings are lot higher than linear ball bearings (THK, Hiwin etc). And they seem to work well only when IGUS rods are used. With other shafts they either have more clearance and play than desirable or run too tight thus reducing life of the bearings which are not so robust. On the other hand with normal linear ball bushings (LM8 etc) variations in shaft diameter can be bit more acceptable. This is my observation and might not be necessarily true.

[arminjahr]

Thanks for the helpful overview, Tom. Your videos are great. One of the Igus savings is weight. The linear bearings in my carriage weighed 9.25 g each -v- the Igus ones at 2 g each. Replacing the steel rods (271 g) with carbon fiber (24 g) resulted in a tighter fit with the Igus bearing and a substantial reduction in mass (from 308 g to 34 g total). I also switched to a Bowden setup (carriage mass from 271 g to 77 g). I've been quite astonished with the improvement in print quality. The result is a quieter, smoother machine that runs at higher speeds without ringing. Thanks, too, for the tips on the SilentStepper drivers. The steppers are practically silent!

[jeffbeck]

I can't believe you only have 38000 subscribers. The info in your videos goes all the way down to the reasons for your engineering decisions and choices of what parts to use, why, what bad things can happen, how that can affect you, etc. Thank you so much because I think you saved me a lot of money. After watching your video, I do not need or even want the caged ball bearings which will save me a ton of money where I am, and really, I think I want polymer bushings for the reduced noise, and increased speed. Thanks for your informative videos that saved me money, time, frustration, etc.

I think you need to replace your youtube picture because it does not look like you, and for a second I thought this was a repost of one of your videos when I looked at the pic.

[MehmetSelmanTamer]

I want to see the webshop with prices not "price upon request!" I hate the idea of "price upon request". I don't know if they are trying to charge me extra or is it just regular price. maybe they will not like my name and charge extra 100%. who knows.

[hardwareful]

Igus offers a variety of bushing materials optmized for different shaft surfaces. When you put two or more on the same rail, it may even matter where the injection point from their production process is - if you're really going for longevity.
Other things to consider: even though they're made to run dry, they can also be lubricated, decreasing their wear/km and surprisingly their play may be intentional to cover the advertised operating temperature range ( a solid rod may just expand outward, a zylindrical ring may do so too but will exhibit a certain wall thickness above which the ID will shrink as it heats up, seizing on the shaft).

[anekroth]

After watching your video I promptly went the the IGUS web site and bought four of the 10mm ID aluminum cased RJUM bearings (RJUM-01-10). They arrived today and I must say that they are excellent. The steel ball linear bearings that I was using have a subtle vibration to them as they slide across the steel rod, whereas these polymer bearings are nice and smooth. I am extremely pleased with these polymer bearings and I want to say thank you for bringing them to my attention.

[dickeyseamus]

My printer came with bearings that seemed to have worn very quickly (they were probably never lubed), replaced them with drylin and it's like a whole new printer. Smoother, quieter, less vibration. The only pain was cutting them to size.

[fpvmkr]

After 4 years of use on my taz 5 the igus bearings had a significant amount of slop especially in the x and y axis. Replaced them with the high precision (grey colored) version RJ4JP with very good results in reducing print artifacts (compared to old ones with slop)

[Andrewatnanz]

The reason I like your videos: you sound like an engineer.

[Mr.Titanium]

Great video Tom!

I opted for the IGUS AVM-08 aluminum (anodized) shafts on all my MK3's axis'. On the Z axis, I installed four RJ4JP-01-08 (15mm) polymer bushings, and six RJZM-01-08 (16mm) on both the X and Y axis (with revised Y bearing holders and X carriage). Yes, some would say that the Z axis doesn't see much action and do not require such an upgrade (less violent travel), but I I'm not one to take shortcuts and the extra $30 on the AVM shafts with polymer bearings gives me peace of mind).

My previously MK2s had the factory shafts/LM8UU bearings and after 200 (+-) prints, the X and Y axis shafts were scored (Prusa did indeed replace them free under warranty, BTW). Yes; I had taken the time and great effort to ensure that Y axis shafts ran parallel (within 0.001"), but the shafts took a beating, regardless.

[CorollaGTSSRX]

EXACTLY what I needed to hear this week! The joys of routine maintenance...

[Rippthrough]

I split the IGUS bearings along one of the slots with a hacksaw and then it's much easier to set a slight preload on them even with clip-in housings such as on the Replicator clones, work just the same as any other split bushing/bearing then.

[martinmajewski]

I will try the "non-aluminium covered" polymer bearings on the Prusa i3 MK2. Even if there is some play, it cannot be much worse then the bad ball bearings coming with the MK2. I had solely nylon wheel based linear systems before and I am shocked of the noise the ball bearings on the MK2 produce. So I hope the printer gets quieter. Currently the bed is not only sitting loose on the shafts with the LM8UUs, but it is also incredibly loud.

Edit: Okay, I followed Thomas' advice and ordered the RJUM-01 aluminium enclosed bushings... They are really much more expensive, but maybe it is better to pay more onetime, than paying less multiple times... I will do a comparison video of the impact of the bushings on the Prusa i3 MK2 as soon as I have them mounted. Next week I should have a second MK2 available, so I can do a simultaneous side by side comparison.

[kentvandervelden]

Interesting topic and explanation. The Taz5 seems to use several of IGUS or IGUS like bearings. For those interested, IGUS has a YouTube channel.

[MarioIArguello]

I have used these on some small task dedicated CNC machines that used to cut trim light vacuum formed micro helicopters canopies with a Dremel tool. They are great for speed and service free in a light load machine. I would not recommend these for CNC machines that have to take heavy cuts or have tools that are heavy. They would make a nice option for 3D printers that are also light.

[BallisticTech]

Wait did he just say "Loose like sleeve of wizard?" Subbed lolz

[nophead]

Only had bad experiences with Igus stuff. Got some RJMP bushing that were out of spec. They say they need to be pressed into an H7 hole but mine were smaller than that to start with and had far too much play.

When in spec 0.05mm is too much anyway for a 3D printer. Some people print with layers heights less than that.

The metal cased ones are 1mm bigger than LMxUU, so not a direct replacement.

The aluminium shafts they supply come bent.

All their stuff is very expensive as well.

[garbageman]

When I was in highschool robotics, IGUS would sponsor the basic kit with aluminum rails and polymer sliders. I'm rebuilding my solidoodle press with them and they are a very nice option for someone with basic tools.

[Cid]

I am using both of them for industrial machines. I love both of them. The ball bearing is noising and expensive but there is less play. I am not using them on chrome plated rod has there are a lot of pressure between the balls and the rods (however it should be okay for a 3d printer). I am using tempered steel rod. These rods are harder and sligthly larger diameter but the price is very high...Moreover there are two type of ball bearing, medium play and low play
For igus bearing, as you told you need to put it in a H7 housing in order to get the correct play even with that there is still more play than de ball bearing.
I do not use the same bearing on your video, I am using the plain bearing. Yours look very interesting more my use.
I do believe if someone can manufacture a simple aluminum tube for installing these plain berings, we should have a really nice option. These plain bearing are less than 1$ and the outside diameter is small that we can the same diameter with the aluminium tube as the ball bearing.
A guy from igus will visit me next week.... if you have questions I can ask him directly.

Note that I do not own a 3d printer I do not know the force in the belt neither the precision on the machine (For me the precision on thoses printers seems very poor I do not know yet why there is two lead screws for the z axis... Everything should block except if you have a ton of play everywhere)