Igus Bearings Save Costs and Machine Maintenance for Surfing Simulator

A company in Brazil that designs fitness training equipment that simulates the movements of a surfboard reduced costs by 70 percent and maintenance by switching to bearings manufactured by Igus, the Germany-based motion plastics specialist.

Surf Evolution allows fitness enthusiasts to practice surfing movements without water. Surfing is an effective total body workout that trains and strengthens a wide range of muscle groups. Non-surfers can also benefit from the workout on Surf Evolution, a device in which 20 exercises can be completed in less than 2.5 square yards. An app provides support and valuable training tips.

Metallic bearings proved to be too maintenance-intensive and expensive for the equipment. Looking for an alternative, the company turned to Igus for its Iglide high-performance polymers. Igus runs its North American operations out of Providence, R.I.

In the first version of Surf Evolution, developers relied on metallic bearings. However, it soon became apparent that the cost of the components was too high and maintenance of the many bearing points too time-consuming.

The training equipment was redesigned and the bearing technology was systematically replaced with products from igus. The numerous bearing points are now equipped with iglide plain bearings. The load setting now uses self-lubricating and maintenance-free drylin lead screws. Smooth movements of the board, forward and backward, are ensured by the drylin W linear guides. This not only enabled improved maintenance, but also yielded cost savings of 70 percent.

Surf Evolution includes software that illustrates real beach scenarios for surfing. The user can configure ocean conditions, create their own avatar and compete against others who are training on their own Surf Evolution equipment in a virtual championship.