Chimay, the famous Belgian brewery known for its traditional Trappist beers, uses maintenance-free spherical plain bearings from igus in its bottling plant. By replacing rusty and stuck ball bearings with lubricant-free igubal H3 bearing inserts, the brewery was able to increase efficiency and reduce maintenance.
Chimay Brewery is one of 12 breweries worldwide that produce Trappist beer brewed by monks. Interestingly, a large part of their profits is dedicated to social projects. Brewed at the Notre-Dame-de-Scourmont Abbey in Hainaut, Belgium, Chimay produced around 18.5 megaliters of beer in 2018.
The high production requirements posed special challenges for the filling system, especially due to frequent breakdowns and seizure of conventional metal ball bearings on the shaft. Replacing a defective ball bearing could take up to a day and a half, which unfortunately led to production downtime. As part of a filling plant optimization project, Chimay turned to igus to find a permanent solution to this problem. After an extensive series of tests and optimization, igubal® H3 bearings proved to be the best choice and since the changeover in September 2022, these bearings have shown very little wear.
Lubrication-free, safe and easy to maintain
igubal® H3 bearings offer many advantages that significantly improve the brewery’s production processes. They are made from tribologically optimized high-performance plastics, which make them lubricant-free, maintenance-free and corrosion-resistant. Even at speeds of 200 rpm, the bearing material functions perfectly within its design limits. igubal® bearing inserts are much easier to assemble and replace than metal ball bearings, significantly reducing maintenance times.
In addition, shaft damage due to wear is eliminated, which extends the service life of the entire system. Another advantage is the high chemical resistance of the igubal H3 bearing inserts. Despite regular cleaning, they show no signs of damage. Thanks to these features, the line reaches an impressive speed of 55,000 bottles per hour. After a successful test phase on three different production lines, Chimay has already ordered 150 additional bearing inserts to replace the remaining ball bearings.
“Thanks to the igubal H3 bearings, we have solved the most important problem with our conveyor system and significantly extended its service life,” says Vivien De Schryver, maintenance technician at Chimay.