Components for fitness and rehabilitation equipment

Well over ten million members currently train in German fitness clubs, and the trend is rising. The focus is always on ergonomic and fluid movements. Plain bearings and linear systems from igus are recommended for customising the seat position, weights and inclination of sports equipment. They offer comfortable handling and work almost silently due to the absence of balls. No less important: igus products do not require additional lubrication. After all, no gym member wants to get their hands dirty or have oil stains on their smart sports outfit. Regardless of whether the settings on the device are made manually or electrically at the touch of a button, fitness machines for professional use must be able to withstand continuous daily operation.

Advantages of igus solutions:

Cost-effective
Save installation space and weight
Maintenance-free for 24/7 use
Fast delivery
Simple assembly
Complete system or individual components with no minimum order quantity
Service life calculation
Low noise and vibration

Free sample box

Test our energy supply systems and bearings for medical technology to improve equipment performance and lower costs.

You can find more information about the contents of the box on the Medibox info page.

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Musterbox Medizintechnik with igus product samples and components for medical applications.

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Fitness rowing machine with igus components, adjustable arms and an inclined seat and foot platform.

Areas of application for plain and linear bearings

Rowing machines

Both rotating and pivoting joints on rowing machines can be ideally adjusted using iglidur plain bearings - silently and maintenance-free. The drylin W linear guides installed underneath the seat also manage completely without external lubrication and can therefore be used openly without dust and dirt sticking to the bearing points. The double-shaft profile of the aluminium rail offers high torsional stiffness and are lightweight. The carriages equipped with tribologically optimised liners ensure very low vibration and result in the quiet sliding of the seat.

Success stories

Maintenance-free bearing technology in the surf training device
The developers of Surf Evolution, a device for training surfing movements, were looking for better bearing technology. In the first version, they relied on metal bearings. However, it soon became apparent that the costs for the components were too high and the maintenance of the many bearing points was too time-consuming. The solution: dry-operating iglidur bushings, dryspin lead screws and drylin W linear guides. With them, maintenance can be minimised and costs reduced by 70%.

Find out more about this application

Surfboard on a scissor lift with a man in surf stance; igus components shown on the left.

Fluid movement on a cross-country skiing trainer
The ThoraxTrainer brings the cross-country skiing trail into your living room. The user moves the poles just like in real cross-country skiing and thus achieves an optimum training effect for the entire body. In order to achieve a particularly realistic simulation, it was important to the developers that the linear carriages slide very smoothly and quietly along the rail. The solution: our lubrication-free drylin W linear guides. The trainer's ski poles are each mounted on a linear guide with a carriage.

Person trains on the Thorax Trainer by pulling a rope.

Smooth gliding without lubrication
For their leg press, the designers at Exer were looking for suitable bearings that would ensure the seat glided easily and smoothly. As the device is used outdoors, the bearings and guides must also be corrosion-free and, ideally, lubrication-free. The choice fell on two drylin W linear guides with hybrid bearings.

Leg press with green and gray seats and a guide rail on a gray frame.

Cost-effective, quiet and lubrication-free
With the drylin W modular system, A & D Sports has also found a way to equip its high-quality fitness equipment with cost-saving and lubrication-free components.

Exercise machine with seat and weight stack for strength training.

Extremely robust under permanent load
With this application, the user trains the body tension as well as the back muscles. igubal spherical bearings ensure comfortable sitting and defy the permanent load.

Stool with a black base and adjustable seat.

Durable, quiet and cost-effective
This application illustrates the advantages of switching from metal bearings to plastic solutions. With this cross trainer, igubal spherical bearings ensure a quiet operation and minimal maintenance.