Fail-safe and economical bearings in centrifuge reduce costs by 93%

This medical device is a decanter centrifuge. It is used to separate the components of the patient's blood and thus concentrate parts of the blood so that it can be used during an operation. Oscillating buckets, known as "cones", which are attached to a rotor, automatically separate the different blood proteins. The cups oscillate with centrifugal force and align themselves using these forces.
To date, metal bearings and stainless steel shafts have been used to ensure that the cones move smoothly and safely. However, these wore out and jammed, resulting in a squeaking noise. This caused undesirable environmental conditions, especially as they are used in a medical environment where a minimum noise level is required.

For a quick solution at the end customer, the manufacturer had to send pen-sized tubes to all customers with instructions on how to apply a lubricant to fix the problem. This meant significant costs and created a new problem. The new process was dirty and the oil attracted dust and dirt around the axis.
The permanent, ideal solution followed promptly and was realised by replacing the metal bearings with iglidur ® G300 plastic bearings. The costs were immediately reduced significantly. With iglidur® bearings, only standard machining tolerances are required, while the metal requires precise machining and reworking. iglidur® also offers a lateral bearing surface in addition to the rotating surface.
The company was able to reduce costs by 93%. Assembly times were reduced by 10 minutes. Maintenance, which the customer was reluctant to carry out, was completely eliminated.