Sanding machine for wooden barrels: durable guide rails for grinding head

At Cabinet D'etudes Techniques Robert in Chermignac, France, a special construction is used to sand the tops of large wooden wine barrels with a capacity of 225 to 400 litres. 
Various elements such as the sliding doors, the sanding heads and brushes in this automatic sanding machine from the barrel-making company Taransaud have to perform both linear and swivelling movements.
The company was looking for an automated solution that could function without an operator during the work cycle. In addition, the linear and bearing components had to be as easy and quick to maintain as possible, and the intervals between maintenance cycles had to be as long as possible.

The developer of the machine, the barrel construction company Taransaud, ultimately decided in favour of the igus® product repertoire for the components used.
Today, linear profile guides from the drylin® product range, more specifically drylin® T-rail guides and drylin® W-profile guides, are used for positioning the grinding heads, for the travel paths of the sliding doors of the system and for guiding the brushes. All other swivelling movements are ensured by iglidur® G flange bearings from igus®.
The linear rail systems and plastic plain bearings from igus® are characterised by their freedom from maintenance and lubricants, thus guaranteeing the company particularly long machine service lives.