Originally Posted by
schbrownie
I built a machine using shafting and pillowblocks for the X-Axis. The table was about 4'x8'. I talked with the customer service guys from igus and they were quite friendly and I ordered the pillowblocks, but I couldn't get them to work. I called pacific bearing and their customer service guy suggested I try their pillowblock. I was skeptical because they are basically the same thing. Once I got them and installed them the bearings from pacific worked!
On the outside, both pillowblocks looked the same (in terms of size and shape anyways). The color between the two is different, but that doesn't effect performance. On the inside, the igus bearing had a plastic bearing surface that I could pop out and play with. The pacific bearing has teflon that's glued down and won't come out. My guess is that because pacific has the glued in version, they can hold a better tolerance than the igus plastic piece that snaps into place. That better tolerance probably allowed my application to work when the igus bearing wouldn't.
By the way, when I talked to the igus sales rep on the phone, they told me that the ridges and grooves in their bearing allowed for dirt to pass through and any dirt on the rail would cause the pacific bearing to fail. I have found this to be completely FALSE. The pacific bearing just pushes the dirt out of the way of the bearing and leaves a little pile of crud at the end of the stroke. They also told me that the pacific bearing teflon is only a thin layer and the whole bearing needs to be replaced often... For the record, I have never had to replace a pacific bearing and I don't know anyone that has.
Good luck with your application,
~Jon