Find the right plain bearing even faster

igus presents the new iglide online shop for making the purchase of plastic plain bearings easier

6 January 2025 – igus®, the Germany-based manufacturer of motion plastics, announced its new iglide® online shop for plain bearings with a new, easy-to-use interface and unique functions.

Like online retailers for tools or fashion, customers can now quickly find the right plain bearings for their application on a modern user interface. However, in addition to the revised operation, the new webshop also has completely new functions. igus has been offering several online tools for several years. They include one for calculating the service life of components to facilitate material selection and another for determining the most favorable or fastest manufacturing option for custom-made products, including price and delivery time.

The new shop integrates a catalog, webshop, and calculation program into a single platform. This lets customers quickly and easily find the most suitable plain bearing for their specific application. Instead of navigating through over 50 different iglide materials, users can simply input the dimensions and operating conditions of the plain bearing they need.

In a matter of seconds, the shop displays all suitable products, including service life, price, and delivery time. The more requirements the plain bearing has to fulfill, such as FDA conformity, operating temperatures, or loads, the more selective the choice becomes. If the entries do not match the existing dimensions program, prices and delivery times for custom-made products in the desired material are calculated in real time.

“With the new igus webshop for iglide plain bearings, we are setting another milestone in digitalizing our services,” says Lars Butenschön, Product Marketing Manager iglide at igus GmbH. “We aim to make the procurement process as simple and efficient as possible for our customers.”

Development together with customers: success for both sides

For a year, a four-person IT team developed the webshop with interdisciplinary employees from other teams. The motion plastics specialist’s customers were involved right from the start.

“Workshops with customers and our experience have shown that designers and application developers are primarily looking for existing standards. The core requirements are different for each case. Sometimes a single dimension, such as the inner diameter, is fixed, and the rest is optional; in other cases, the list of requirements is so specific that no standard plain bearing will fit, but a custom-made product is required,” explains Butenschön.

Special shapes can also be ordered directly via the new webshop. These can be special parts from the FastLine injection-molding service, machined parts from bar stock, or special parts from 3D printing. The online shop has been live since the end of last year and is also used by the technical igus sales consultants in the field.

“The feedback from our customers and colleagues shows us that the user interface is convincing and that the selection and ordering process is significantly faster,” says Butenschön.

The webshop provides technical drawings and CAD data for every iglide plain bearing as an additional service. This makes it easier for engineers and purchasers to select the perfect bearing for their individual requirements.

igus invites customers, engineers, and interested parties to discover the new igus webshop for iglide plain bearings. Visit it at https://www.www.hansarobotics.com/iglide-ibh/flange-bearings