Polymer bushing and wear material manufacturer Vesconite Bearings has installed two Haas lathes with bar feeders for large-volume bushing production. Demand for long production runs is increasing and the new lathes allow the manufacturer to produce 20,000 to 70,000 bushings at a time. There is a definite need for this equipment, says production manager Robin […]
Quick payback on wear ring
The installation of Vesconite Hilube polymer wear rings can result in electricity savings that more than pay for the wear ring. This was the result of a study by a large pump original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that compared energy usage on a typical submersible pump when a Vesconite Hilube wear ring was in place and […]
Vesconite prototypes face shields
Polymer bushing and wear material producer Vesconite Bearings has prototyped a face shield in response to the global call to produce personal protective equipment for emergency medical personnel and nurses. Some 30 prototype shields, including five with holes, have been sent to a health facility for testing and to verify that the design, which includes […]
Vesconite looking into ventilator manufacturing
Polymer bushing and wear material manufacturer Vesconite Bearings is standing by to help manufacture ventilators in case the Coronavirus pandemic spirals. Last week, the company sent 25,000 emails to customers and contacts throughout the world asking whether any had experience in making ventilators. With no expertise in this technology but, with 70 CNC lathes and […]
Pump restarts successfully after closed period
One of South Africa’s largest independent polyurethane and plastic foam manufacturers restarted an important gear pump, used to pump glue to rebound foam chips, without difficulty after the company’s December-January closed period. Because the gear pump pumps viscous adhesive liquid at one of the company’s two-chip plants, pumps can fail to restart if component parts […]
Hydrodynamic composite bearings in mining application
Mineral processing equipment manufacturer and designer MechProTech has introduced hydrodynamic composite bearings made out of Vesconite thermopolymer plates that are bent into a half-moon or quarter-moon shape. These are used on the mills (which are used for the fine grinding of mineral ore) and scrubbers (which are used for the washing and dispersion of clays […]
Stern bearing in 43-ft aluminum sailing yacht application
Vesconite Bearings has a long history of service to recreational boat users thanks to its large number of distributors for its marine products. Dutch-born world travelers Adri and Sytske Broekhuizen, for instance, installed a Vesconite stern bearing in their 43ft aluminum sailing yacht, from the designer Koopmans in Lelystad, when they were docked in Singapore […]
UK bracket manufacturer selects Vesconite for 3D printer bushings
A UK manufacturer of brackets for electrical equipment has changed its 3D printer bushings to Vesconite ones. The manufacturer had used roller bearings on its two Prusa 3D printers but had found that roller bearings wore away the printer rods. They also required regular greasing. Following some online searching, Triple Link Manufacturing founder Mark Bagnall […]
Vesconite opens office for New Zealand
Vesconite Bearings has opened an office in New Zealand to assist customers and resellers with their Vesconite low-friction no-grease-required polymer bearing and wear-material requirements. Vesconite Bearings has also appointed Eddie Swanepoel as Vesconite Bearings New Zealand’s COO. Swanepoel brings a wealth of experience to the position. He is knowledgeable about a variety of industrial polymers […]
Self-lubricating polymer bushings in miniature steam train application
The team that was awarded the Guinness World Record in 2017 for the longest distance covered by a miniature steam train is setting its sights on improving its record. Keyser Locomotive Works, together with the Pietermaritzburg Model Engineering Society, in South Africa, was able to cover 330km in 24 hours in its record-breaking attempt, which […]
Bearing packaging solution proves successful
In the five years since Vesconite Bearings introduced a minimum of two layers of corrugated cardboard packaging around each of its dispatched polymer bushings and rods, the company has had no returns from breakages due to transportation. The company instituted this as a packaging standard after a complaint by a customer led it to investigate […]
Vesconite bearings improves marine bearing availability
Vesconite Bearings’ grease-free polymer bearings and wear parts for the marine industry will be even more widely available from August 2019. This follows the introduction of additional warehousing in Dubai, which adds to Vesconite Bearings’ global warehousing and stocking-distribution capacity located in the US, UK, Netherlands, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. Dubai, […]
Vesconite Bearings’ 3D printer bushings online store
Vesconite Bearings, the maker of advanced polymer bushings, has launched a 3D printer bushing web store. Stock printer bushings include the LM12UU, LM10UU, LM8LUU, LM8UU and LM6UU, priced from $1.90 excluding taxes and shipping. The specialised 3D printer bushings in stock fit many common 3D models. They come in Vesconite Hilube and an advanced grade, […]
Vesconite Hitemp polymer challenges melamine in sugar-industry hanger bearings
Melamine hanger bearings will face a new competitor in the sugar industry, as a result of the development and active promotion of the abrasion-resistant polymer Hitemp 150 FG. The polymer’s name signifies that it can be used in applications that run at temperatures up to 150ºC. Manufactured from ingredients that are all food grade approved, […]
Vesconite Bearings invests in 5-axis capability
Vesconite Bearings is ramping up its 5-axis machining capability in line with future demands for more complex machined parts made from its advanced engineered plastics. The company already has a Haas VF 11 and a 6-m Marufuku machining center with a 5-axis head, and is currently investigating the purchase of specialist software that will allow […]
Vesconite adds engineering personnel
Vesconite Bearings has appointed four additional engineers announced CEO Dr. Jean-Patrick Leger. Additionally, the company intends to expand the range of applications in which its no-grease, hard-wearing, low-coefficient-of friction polymers can be used, he said. New appointees Zané Easton and Monique Kooij are chemical engineers who will be responsible for rail and marine applications, respectively. […]
Vesconite Bearings contracts Bartholomews for UK distribution
Vesconite Bearings has contracted Bartholomews Specialist Distribution Ltd (Bartholomews) to warehouse and dispatch Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube engineered polymer rods and hollow bar from Bartholomews’ facility in Eastleigh, UK. This is according to Vesconite Bearings UK champion Julian Fenn and CEO Dr Jean-Patrick Leger, who note that Bartholomews is able to provide the required storage […]
Increased representation for Vesconite Bearings in USA
Experienced polymer-products representative Gary Croeser has officially become the Vesconite Bearings representative in the US. This was the announcement made by Vesconite Bearings chairperson Dr Jean-Patrick Leger this month. “Croeser has successfully managed the Vesconite Bearings Texas warehouse since 2004,” he said. “I am very pleased to advise that we have now retained Croeser to […]
Load pads show little wear after two years
Six Vesconite Superlube load pads that have been recovered from South African rail parastatal Transnet’s Sishen-Saldanha-line bogies show little wear after two years of use. This is according to Dr Jean-Patrick Leger, the CEO of Vesconite Bearings, which makes the polymer load pads that are installed on railway bogies — the metal structures on which […]
Vesconite Bearings adds to its machine shop
Self-lubricated polymer bearings and bushes manufacturer Vesconite Bearings will add three computer numerically controlled lathes and machining centers to its machine shop next month. Among the equipment added will be a Mazak slant turn lathe with a C axis, a Gate ECL 550 gap bed lathe and a Haas HS-1 horizontal machining centre. “We are […]
Container ship goes green with Vesconite bearings
When the stern tube bearing on the 490 x 750-ft container ship M/V Marine Rickmers began to fail, Durban, South Africa-based Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH South Africa) replaced it with state-of-the-art, pollution-free Vesconite. The innovative self-lubricating polymer is far superior to oil-lubricated lignum vitae, white metal and composite bearings, especially with the implementation of […]
Supply continues to first Vesconite pump application
The Australian agent of the no-swell, lubrication-free bushing and wear materials Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube continues to supply the company that first proved Vesconite’s suitability for pump applications. VescoPlastics Australia technical expert Robert Egginton supplies the pump company with 40 to 80 bushings each year. These end up in various pumps that this Australian branch […]
Carbon graphite shortage kick starts search for better bearings
A graphite shortage has meant that manufacturers of submersible motors and pumps are switching to impact and wear-resistant Vesconite bearings. Vesconite technical sales representative Eddie Swanepoel informs that he has received inquiries for the switch from carbon graphite to Vesconite for sleeve and thrust bearings and mechanical seals for submersible motors and for line-shaft bushings […]
Freewheel bike bushing operating well after 10,000km
When cycling enthusiast Willem Goosen noticed in a service that the cogset on his bike’s rear wheel – known as the rear freewheel – had quite a bit of play, he decided to make his own smaller lubrication-free Vesconite bushing. “I decided on Vesconite as it has all the characteristics that I required,” says Goosen. […]
Australian agricultural equipment manufacturer uses Vesconite Hilube
An Australian agricultural equipment manufacturer has switched from oil-impregnated nylon bushings to Vesconite Hilube polymer ones on the hydraulic tynes that it manufactures for seeding ma-chines. The Vesconite Hilube polymer is valued by farmers and agricultural equipment manufacturers for being a self-lubricating, wear resistant polymer, which is widely used in tough agricultural applica-tions characterised by […]