Vesconite Hilube low-maintenance low-friction 3D printer bushings played an important part in the fabrication of a fossil giant wombat skeleton (Phascolonus sp.) for an exhibit on Australian Megafauna. Phascolonus was two to three times larger than modern wombats, and had a bodyweight of up to around 200 kg. The project consisted of over 100 components, […]

Vesconite wear-resistant sleeve bearing replacements have been fitted as standard components in a range of Powerstart hydraulic and turbine starter motors, with some 550 of these motors in the field at the end of May 2021. These plain bearings replaced internal and external needle-roller bearings, which are a special type of roller bearing with thin […]

A time-lapse video proves that Vesconite Superlube low-friction, high-load-carrying bearings perform well as sliding bearings in large structures, including soccer stadiums. The video starts shortly after 7 pm and shows structural movement throughout the evening when the stadium concrete beams contract due to cooling and continues past mid-day when higher temperatures result in expansion. These […]

A nylon bearing-swell problem almost led to the abandonment of a project to develop a new percussion hammer drill until the drill maker turned to Vesconite Hilube no-swell wear-resistant bearings. The drill had been designed with a specific heat-stabilized nylon machined into linear bearings. However, due to the swell associated with the nylon, ten sets […]

Vesconite’s Hitemp 150 hanger bearings have been installed at a palm oil processing factory in Cameroon, Central Africa. This followed a suggestion to test Vesconite Bearing’s most abrasion-resistant polymer – which also has a high-temperature rating. Abrasion resistance is important for a bearing’s success since wear can result in frequent replacement and factory downtime, while […]

The 36-meter Miss Silver sailing yacht has returned to her New Zealand birthplace for a complete refit, including fore and aft Vesconite Hilube propeller bearings. The two bearings, 5¼-in. on the outside diameter, 4¼-in. on the inside and 17-in. long, replaced phenol-ic-backed rubber bearings. The Vesconite Hilube bearings offer the advantage of close clearances, thus […]

Some 2,000 pump bushings have been ordered for a new vertical turbine range that is being developed by a Texas pump manufacturer. The pump manufacturer has been a client of Vesconite Bearings since June 2012, ordering wear-resistant Vesconite Hilube bushings for applications that call for small clearances in sometimes abrasive conditions. With the design of […]

A starch and glucose producer in South Africa fitted Vesconite wear-resistant deflectors to its centrifugal pumps in 2019, and substantial maintenance, component, and capital-cost savings resulted. Deflectors are cylindrical rings placed at either end of the bearing assembly around the shaft. In this application, they fit at the end of oil lip seals to prevent […]

A large wind turbine manufacturer continues to use Vesconite Hilube actuator bearing supports in its wind turbines’ hydraulic blade pitch control systems. Pitch control systems are essential to protect wind turbines in adverse weather conditions as well as maximize the energy production of wind turbines. These systems allow blades to be twisted so that load […]

Vesconite Bearings’ Hitemp 160 polymer bearing material has been approved for use in food- contact applications. This is according to CEO Dr. Jean-Patrick Leger, who received the formal certification letter from the Laboratoire National De Métrologie et d’Essais (LNE) ﹣ the French public institution tasked with the voluntary or regulatory certification of products, management systems, […]

Repair work at the Hammanskraal Drinking Water Project in Tshwane, South Africa, has included replacement of the lower bearing on an Archimedes screw with a Vesconite Hilube polymer bearing. The bearing has a 202 mm inner diameter, a 300 mm outer diameter, and is 407 mm long. The bottom bearing shaft with the hub and […]

A pump containing three sleeve bearings made from a new bearing material, Hitemp 160 − which can operate to temperatures up to 160°C and is resistant to abrasive material − has been tested in a pump that has received South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) certification. Vesconite Bearings pump applications specialist Phillip de Villiers informs […]

Vesconite Bearings has been hard at work identifying the most common propeller shaft bearings used in the leisure marine industry. It has done so to ensure that the right stock is available when clients need a particular item. Vesconite Bearings has since identified 170 frequently used sizes. Its imperial sizes range from shaft diameters of […]

A large-diameter six-meter lathe is expected at Vesconite Bearings’ South African factory in the next few weeks. The lathe will be able to machine extra-large-diameter bearings, which are in demand for marine mining, container ships, oil tankers, and equipment used to generate renewable power from tides, waves, and currents. The lathe has a ‘swing-over-bed’ of […]

Polymer bearing material producer Vesconite Bearings intends to take advantage of South Africa’s high levels of solar radiation to power some of its most power-hungry processes. The company has already installed the first phase of its solar project, comprising 14 strings of 18 x 350 W Canadian solar panels and a 66 kW Schneider Electric […]

Vesconite Hilube bushings, which were installed on the control arm linkages on the radial deep sluice gates on a hydropower dam on the Nile River, are still operating some seven years after a complete overhaul of the systems controlling water flow in 2013. A company representative reports that the sourcing and specifying of components, including […]

A custom farm implement designer will recommend Vesconite for all the bushings on a ripper/cultivator that he is currently designing, in line with a belief in Vesconite’s no-swell self-lubricating wear-resistant characteristics that have led to him using the bearing material on all of his agricultural equipment. Designer and innovator Kobus van Zyl, of Verbo Engineering, […]

Bearing and wear part manufacturer Vesconite Bearings has increased its efforts to develop better -than-the-original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) forklift parts. The company has long known that its gantry support bearings, tilt cylinder bushings, side shift pads, mast pivot bushings, steer axle articulation bushings, king pin bushings, and lever and pedal bushings offered low-friction, wear-resistant, and high load […]

Independent tests by a major pump manufacturer prove corrosion-free Vesconite Hilube wear rings safely allow reduced running clearances and improve pump efficiency. Bronze casing wear rings with a clearance of 0.3 mm were tested against no-swell Vesconite Hilube at 0.1 mm Pump efficiency increased from 80.50 to 82.55%. Pumping head increased from 30.204 to 30.818 […]

Vesconite Bearings’ ship classification certifications continue to span the world, with the team ensuring that the certificates remain up-to-date. The company’s marine bearings are currently certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS ), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Japan) (NKK), Bureau Veritas (BV), Lloyds Register (LR), Det Norske Veritas / Germanisher Lloyd (DNV / GL), China […]

While many have historically praised rubber and nitrile rubber marine bearings, Vesconite Bearings, the maker of the no-swell Vesconite Hilube polymer, has seen ship repairers increasingly turn to its product. Such was the case in June, when one New Zealand repairer, who has traditionally only used rubber bearings, requested Vesconite Hilube for two sailing yachts. […]

Vesconite Hilube trunnion bearings have been used on the Kruisvallei Hydro Power Plant’s tainter gates, which are to be installed this year on the Ash River, halfway between Bethlehem and Clarens, in South Africa. From the side, tainter gates look like a slice of pizza with the curved part facing upstream of the canal and […]

Condensate pumps can get very hot. They are used in industrial steam systems to collect and return steam to a boiler for reuse. This is why when a large energy company in Africa required lineshaft and bowl bearings for condensate pumps at its 4,000 MW power station it turned to Hitemp 150, an engineered polymer […]

A Vesconite rudder bushing has been an important part of the step-by-step dismantling, parts procurement, and reassembly of the rudder of a 30ft Jeanneau Arcadia sailing yacht known as the Ghaaata. When an annual maintenance inspection revealed significant rudder play caused by the internal structure, Jeanneau Arcadia sailing yacht owner Jorge Veiga embarked on a […]

Polymer bushing and wear material manufacturer Vesconite Bearings has taken delivery of a Haas gantry router with a 3,200-mm bed. “This will be a busy addition to the company’s machining capability,” says production manager Robin Crabb. The router will allow the company to machine parts on it substantial x-y axis, and rout out integral parts […]