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• What was needed: igubal fixed flange and spherical bearing technology
• Requirements: A movable bearing for the screw conveyor of the spreader unit was found that is permanently resistant to the aggressive road salt
• Industry: Spreader unit, automation
• Success for the customer: The fixed flange and spherical bearings used from the igubal product portfolio withstand the salt in the application. The maintenance-free bearings were combined with a shaft material made of easily machinable stainless steel.

Problem

The machine is a winter service spreader with a capacity of 350 litres to 800 litres for spreading gritting agents such as sand and chippings as well as de-icing agents such as salt. The spreader operates on the 12 V battery voltage of the carrier vehicle, so there is no need for a hydraulic drive. This means it can be mounted on any pick-up or other flatbed vehicle. The application rate is dosed to the gram by a screw conveyor. A computer unit helps us to calculate the desired spreading width and travel speed, thus indicating the correct conveying speed of the screw conveyor. Overdosing and thus unnecessary environmental pollution is virtually eliminated.

Solution

The bearing of the screw conveyor proved to be problematic. In order to compensate for axial misalignment and dynamic movements in the screw, the bearing should be movable. In order to be able to withstand the aggressive medium salt, it was decided to use an igubal fixed flange bearing of the type EFSM-30 on the output side and an igubal spherical bearing of the type KGLM-30 on the input side. The shaft material chosen is the easily machinable stainless steel 1.4305.