Polymer bearings drive reliability in heavy lifting equipment

Leading dock-levelling and materials-handling specialist REV Designs & Installations has become one of South Africa’s most innovative engineering firms in the lifting-equipment sector.

Based in Springs, the company designs and manufactures a wide range of loading, docking, and lifting equipment, including some of the largest scissor lifts ever produced in the country.

A key factor in REV’s success is the careful design and specification of materials and components, which amplifies equipment performance and ensures trouble-free operation for customers. A standout example is the construction of three massive scissor lifts for the timber industry several years ago. Each lift can handle up to 40 tonnes and was designed for harsh, high-dust sawmilling environments where uptime is critical.

During this project, founder and chief designer Ricardo Viljoen made a strategic engineering decision to move away from greased steel bearings and fully adopt igus high-performance polymer bearings at the key pivot points of the lifts.

According to Ricardo, the results have exceeded expectations. “The original scissor lifts have now been in operation for around five years, and the service history is striking. The machines were designed to be serviced quarterly with an annual inspection recommended. In practice, REV has only been called back twice in five years, once for a light annual service and again for a general inspection. Since that time, not a single bush or bearing has failed.”

This change has saved customers countless hours and costs that would otherwise have been associated with maintaining greased steel bearings, which often fail several times per lift each year.

“The igus polymer bearings have operated without lubrication nor adjustment and without any sign of wear severe enough to warrant replacement. The scissor lifts themselves have also run trouble-free, reinforcing the success of the bearing choice and overall design.

“Our customer’s own maintenance teams have confirmed that there has never been a problem with the bushes, never a problem with the scissor lift nor anything with the scissor lifts,” Ricardo adds.

The long-term reliability of polymer bearings has fundamentally influenced REV’s design philosophy. Today, all new scissor lifts and many other loading and lifting solutions produced by the company use igus polymer plain bearings and bushings as standard.

Ricardo explains that bearings must be exceptionally strong to handle the massive forces generated during heavy lifting, while also resisting debris that can quickly damage metal-on-metal bearings. The sawmilling sector, notorious for fine sawdust, moisture, and abrasive particles, is a perfect example.

Traditional bearings require constant greasing and maintenance, while polymer bearings operate reliably in these challenging conditions.

Working closely with Juan-Eric Davidtz, igus’s polymer bearing specialist, REV identifies the correct iglide material for each pivot point, whether on scissor lifts, casters, or other moving applications. For example, the timber scissor lift incorporates 33 bushings, each operating under slightly different conditions, including load, movement, or weight. Matching the correct polymer formulation ensures optimal performance throughout the system.

The results speak for themselves. After five years of hard service, there is no measurable degradation of the bearings. “Polymer bearings have become integral to nearly all new designs,” Ricardo says, noting their ruggedness, predictable performance, and dramatically reduced maintenance requirements.

By replacing steel bearings with igus polymer solutions, REV now offers equipment with significantly longer service intervals and minimal maintenance, a major advantage in industries where stopping production for repairs can be extremely costly. Through this partnership with igus, REV has developed some of the most reliable heavy-duty scissor lifts in South Africa, capable of operating in the harshest industrial environments.