Online tool helps selection of lightweight and lubrication-free guide rollers

Maintenance-free, hygienic and clean: these are the component requirements of the food and packaging industry.

For this reason, designers of film and labelling systems rely on smooth-running guide rollers with lubrication-free plastic components from igus. 

To help choose the right roller for a specific application, igus has developed a new online tool for guide rollers called xiros expert.

xiros polymer ball bearings are lubrication-free and have a low breakaway torque. They are used in the packaging and food industry because there is no risk of contamination due to lubricants seeping out. 

xiros guide rollers are available in various diameters and lengths with three different tube materials.

xiros expert helps engineers select and order their guide roller in two simple steps. In the first step, specify the outer and inner diameter as well as the length of the roller, the load, and environmental parameters in the form of the temperature. 

By entering the applied force, which can be either a surface or point load, and the degree of wrap around, the online xiros expert calculates the resulting force on the roller and recommends the appropriate tube materials. 

In the second step, the engineer can select their guide roller based on the deflection, weight and price data, download the configuration CAD data and order the roller.

Guide rollers made of aluminium, PVC and carbon fibre are available for a wide variety of application scenarios.

Compared with conventional stainless-steel tubes, the igus materials weigh significantly less, which in turn has a positive effect on roller inertia. If a roller made entirely of approved materials for the food industry is required, the guide roller with the PVC tube material is the right choice as it complies with EU Regulation 10/2011.

If a particularly lightweight guide roller is required, a carbon fibre tube can be used. Aluminium tubes offer a common solution for guiding labels and films.