Vesconite Success Stories

In 2024, Drytech Holdings sought an alternative to procurable 32B Triplex chain tensioners. The standard tensioners tend to be made of low-maintenance, food-grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). However, Drytech Holdings discovered that the available chain tensioners did not fully meet its operational requirements.

“When faced with the challenge of finding a solution for our massive 32B Triplex chain tensioner, off-the-shelf options fell short,” says Mechanical Design Engineer Renier Botha.

“That’s when I turned to Vesconite Bearings for their expertise. Their team stepped up to the plate for Drytech Holdings, delivering a custom Vesconite Hilube chain tensioning block with exceptional craftsmanship and efficiency.”

A chain tensioner is a crucial mechanical component that maintains the proper tension in a chain-driven system. These systems are vital for various applications, including industrial machinery, automotive engines, and materials-handling equipment. The primary function of a chain tensioner is to keep the chain tight, preventing slipping, skipping, or disengagement from the sprockets while ensuring efficient power transmission.

The chain operated at a speed of 0.2 m/s for this particular application, requiring a durable and reliable tensioning solution. Vesconite Bearings provided a custom-designed chain tensioning block made from Vesconite Hilube, an advanced wear material known for its low friction and self-lubricating properties.

A manufacturer of bale feeders and grapples in New Zealand has used Vesconite bushings on its bale feeders for three years, fitting 300 bale feeders with Vesconite bushings.

The feeders use a Ø 40 mm shaft that goes through the Vesconite bushings: this drives the sprockets and chain on each end of the feeder cradle.

“The bushings are so good we advertise low maintenance and a 15-year warranty on this system,” says The Feeder Leader’s owner, Terry Cameron.

“Marvellous product,” he says.

“I had a sliding ‘car’ made up for my yacht from a piece of Vesconite,” says Rob Bower of the piece of equipment that moves along the traveller rail and serves as an anchor point for the sheave that adjusts the main sheet to achieve good speeds and acceleration in different wind conditions.

“The part was originally made from cast aluminium with roller bearings, but all failed and I was not able to get a spare traveller.”

“So, I machined one from a piece of Vesconite of about 150 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm – no ball bearings, just a surrounding-type slider.”

“It took a bit of machining but resulted in an excellent sliding system that works really well despite exposure to the harsh conditions when at sea.”

“The tensile force on the traveller car could reach a ton – perhaps more.”

“I would like to thank Vesconite Bearings for your fast service: you helped make my summer boating season awesome,” says Don Finney, a recreational boating enthusiast from the US.

“I received the new bushings and installed the Vesconite Hilube bushings without adhesive and just grub screws.”

“All of your bushings fit great. We have a 1986 Marinette Sportsman – our boat is all aluminium and your bushings work well for our boat.”

“I don’t have a clearance problem anymore. No problems … I like that the prop shafts turn by hand when out of the water. With the old bushings the prop shafts seized up out of the water.”

“We have successfully used Vesconite on many applications on the miniature railway in Stellenbosch, so using it on a full-size rail vehicle was a no-brainer!”

The team behind the Winelands Light Railway, in Stellenbosch, was asked to revive the old Ratanga Amusement Park 24″ gauge railway that had, since the closure and redevelopment of the area, fallen out of use. The old train set was assessed and found to be in too poor a state to rebuild and so the concept of Century City Tramway, in Cape Town, a brand new battery-operated tramway, was born, says Winelands Light Railway’s Andries Keyser.

“The challenge was to build a vintage-looking tramcar from scratch with zero emissions and minimal maintenance as there are no service facilities on site. Since the tramcar was to run on a fully paved and concreted in-track bed, dripping oil had to be avoided at all costs.”

“Greased self-aligning bearings were only used on the main axles; all other sliding and rubbing surfaces were made of Vesconite. With virtually no direct metal-to-metal contact from the chassis to the rail, the vibration carried from the concrete-encased track was also minimal.”

“The drive system is all electric running on lithium iron batteries; at full capacity, 50 km is easily attained on a single charge. With the bogies moving very freely on Vesconite rollers, drag is reduced in the corners and less energy is needed to propel the tramcar along.”

“I bought my first Prusa MK3 printer in August 2018 and a couple of months later I purchased Vesconite Hilube bushings for all the axes rods. The linear roller bearings included with the printer just weren’t holding up. This printer is still my workhorse with the original Vesconite Hilube bushings. Here are the stats on that printer using Vesconite Hilube bushings:  28,661 m of filament over 756 days of print time (over 2 years of printing). I have never had to disassemble the printer for bushing maintenance.

“Since then, I have purchased several other printers. Including several of my friends’ purchases, all of them are using Vesconite bushings! I have an additional four printers, which are variations of the Prusa MK3, and all the  MK3 printers were built between 2019 through 2021 and are using either Vesconite Hilube or Vesconite Superlube from the day they were built.

“Of my newer printers, one uses Vesconite Superlube and only prints ABS and ASA, one uses Vesconite Hilube and prints PLA, PETG and TPU, one uses Vesconite Superlube and prints PLA, PETG and TPU, and one uses Vesconite Hilube and only prints carbon fiber.

“I ordered the newly-released Prusa MK4, which will be arriving mid to late June 2023. I have ordered and received the new LM8UU Vesconite Superlube self-centring bushings from Vesconite for this machine.”

Keith is also waiting for the LM10LUU (self-aligning) version to be finalised by Vesconite Bearings, and he will be installing these bushings on the Z-axis of the new MK4.

I have used Vesconite for both the top and bottom bushes for my Hanse 301. I spoke to some very knowledgeable people in South Africa and, unfortunately, the size of tube I required was not held in UK, so it was sent, and with it instructions on how to machine the material. I followed those and machined my own bushes in the farm workshop, then went to the boat and offered them in… perfect fit, both into the hull and in the cockpit… was a perfect fit for the rudder tube. It was a great material to work with.

“I battled for two years with stiff rudder movement. I then tried Vesconite. Vesconite is a self-lubricating polymer that never swells and can be machined to size and couriered to anywhere in the world. I had it machined to 0.25mm smaller than the original size by Vesconite Bearings on the inside and outside diameter. The rudder can now be steered with two fingers, what a difference! The cost of two bearings and two bottom washers is less than the price from Bavaria. I received really good service.”

“We’ve found another material to replace our bronze bushings, the material is called Vesconite,” says Ross Reels CEO Craig Baker of the company’s redesigned Colorado Fishing Reel.  “It is an engineered polymer designed specifically for underwater load-bearing and bushing applications. It is used in high-speed trains, oil rigs, water pumps, deep-sea drills, and that kind of thing. We have been testing it for like a year or so in all of our products and putting it in the sand and jamming it together and running. The new Colorado is the first in the Ross lineup to use the Vesconite as the bushing material. We believe it is something that’s just going to last longer and perform better.”

“We don’t do much sourcing from outside the USA but your product is so fantastic we can’t resist,” Ross Reels and Abel Reels Accountant Ken Watson enthuses.

Find out more about how Ross Reels uses Vesconite here

“On the annual maintenance inspection of a 1984 model, Jeanneau Arcadia sailing yacht named Ghaaata, significant play was detected in the rudder, due to wear in the internal structure of its housing. The yacht, which is used for coastal sailing on the Oslo Fjord in Norway was hauled into dry dock to have the rudder and housing stripped out for a replacement. Through extensive research, Vesconite Hilube was selected as the bushing material of choice for the main rudder bushings, this due to its excellent reputation for self-lubrication and ability to maintain shape, under load, while submerged in salt water. “I contacted Vesconite, asking where I could have the bushing manufactured here in Norway. It turned out that Vesconite provides a full machining service from their factory in South Africa, with quick global distribution. The entire process worked fantastically well. Vesconite provided answers almost immediately, were always available and personally informed me of the the progress and tracked the shipment, right up until it arrived in Norway. I have no hesitation to endorse Vesconite.”

“After regularly replacing white metal stuffing box bearings on my 1962, 4,5 ton Bermuda-rigged sloop, Calloo of Wivenhoe, I sought an alternative. In 2007 I began researching more suitable options and found Vesconite. The replacement part was machined from this ultra-low friction material and fitted to the sloop during the same year. 12 years later, on a routine inspection the material shows minimal deterioration, despite its exposure to salt water and grit. As a bearing material, Vesconite doesn’t seem to wear at all! I continue to sail solo on the Moray Firth in Scotland and take part in an annual cruise on the west coast of Norway. The Vesconite bearing has saved me considerable costs and time in servicing and maintenance.”

“When we started making 18 to 30 foot ornamental and aeration windmills, we used a bearing in the center hub. Because they’re so far off the ground this bearings never or rarely got greased and would eventually fail. From there we used a nylon bushing with a brass insert, but the stainless steel shaft would quite literally eat those things for lunch! Needless to say they squeaked and carried on, which made us research further and try to find something that would last but not require any grease. The Vesconite bushing has been the answer to our prayer. This material is awesome. It does not require any lubrication, in fact, it is self lubricating. We haven’t replaced one Vesconite Bushing since we started using them 6 years ago.”

“I investigated many ways to bush the main rudder shaft on my 38′ steel sailboat Bryana, and decided to move from traditional brass to a single, large Vesconite bearing. This bearing controls 13 tons of yacht through the toughest ocean conditions and due its dimensional stability, high load strength and reliability, Vesconite was the perfect choice for the project. I installed the bearing myself with a homemade puller. Our family competed in the 2,000 nautical miles Governor’s Cup, Simon’s Town, South Africa to St. Helena, winning the Ambrose Family Trophy. The Vesconite bush on Bryana’s rudder is still 100%. I sold the boat in 2015, and since transfer she has added over 25000 nautical miles to her log.”

“We have been running trials with Vesconite Hilube sleeve bushings on 3D printers, to create more robust, reliable and smoother-operating machines. The current Vesconite Hilube bushings fitted to our test printer, have now exceeded 6000 hours of use, and on inspection, show no signs of wear. It is amazing how incredibly durable this material is. We are now looking at standardising printer bushing sizes and will certainly be using Vesconite Hilube in the future.”

“We build offroad Baja Bugs and were spending a lot on metal link pin shims for the front end. In my case I use five shims per side with a total of 40 shims for wheel camber alignment. The use of several shims allows for a slight movement in the joining surfaces. After a short time these shims wear and push themselves out. I then tried silicon bronze but this was too brittle and broke. Vesconite to the rescue. I machined four Vesconite shims with a width of .086 each. to replace the 40 shims that had cost a good amount of money. To date, I have not had to replace any of the Vesconite shims. Vesconite has solved the problem.”

“After replacing the all-rubber cutlass bearing of my new Jeanneau Sun Fast 35, Tide The Knot a frustrating two times in seven years, I sought an alternative. A fellow sailor told me about his positive experience with Vesconite Hilube as a rudder bearing. Shortly after contacting Leandro Panzini from Vesconite, I had a state-of-the-art polymer bearing installed. The propeller shaft had vibrated severely at 2900 – 3000 rpm, caused by the original cutlass bearing materials wearing prematurely. Jeanneau recommended replacing the cutlass bearing annually—a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Their all-rubber part simply did not have the longevity and reliability I needed. With the Vesconite Hilube bearing, there is no vibration at all, even while running the boat at full rpm. Inspection upon haulage has shown no sign of wear or damage either. The service and product I received from Vesconite was excellent, I could not be happier with the result.”

” We recently needed to replace the worn brass bushings on one of our 3D printers. We produce components for businesses and factories as well as a range of toys, meaning that the printers work around the clock. The original brass bushings on the machine had worn considerably from use, as well as from the lubricating paste applied to them, which over time becomes abrasive, wearing the shaft down as well. We approached Vesconite Bearings who confirmed that their self-lubricating Vesconite Hilube was the right product for the job. They were able to machine to spec and supply the required bushings within 5 days of us placing the order, impressive indeed. To date the machine has printed for 7253 hours, has required no lubrication and shows no sign of wear on either the shafts or the bushings.”