A look back at the Hanover Trade Show 2017

With precision to the stars

At IBC Wälzlager everything revolves around precision. Now the advanced technology from Solms is being put to use in the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the largest celestial eye in the world, located in the middle of the Chilean desert.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place in the world and home to the Paranal Observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory. The VLT is also located there. Thanks to this, it was possible to take the first ever picture of an exoplanet, a heavenly body that is in another planetary system.

A journey to such a planet would take around 76,000 years if travelling at a speed of 62,000 km/h. It takes incredible precision to get pictures with high resolution of something at that distance. IBC guarantees the exact positioning of the optics through its unique high-precision angular contact ball bearings. The unique feature: They have ruby and tungsten carbide ball bearings and gold-coated roller bearing rings. Thus they can withstand the extreme conditions of -193 °C at the unit.

Measuring the universe

Six IBC high-precision rolling bearing pairs handle the positioning of the so-called Infrared Spectrometer and Array Camera (ISAAC) that is in the VLT. Thanks to ISAAC, the distance to galaxy NGC 300 could be determined more precisely than to any other galaxy outside the immediate vicinity of the Milky Way. In this way IBC makes a fundamental contribution to researching the universe and measuring completely unknown solar systems.

Presentation at the Hanover Trade Show

These bearings were shown in public for the first time between 24th and 28th April 2017 as part of the Hanover Trade Show at the stand of IBC Wälzlager (hall 22, stand A10).

In addition to the angular contact ball bearings the new products of the EXAD generation were also a highlight of the trade show. They meet all requirements for high load-bearing capacity, low friction and a long service working life. Thus they show  proven results through advanced rolling bearing materials and subjected to special heat treatment to achieve effective use of material, high performance and energy saving. 

Further optimisation of the technology and economic efficiency is provided by an ATCoat coating of the rolling bearings.

IBC Wälzlager GmbH once again secured new customers both within Germany and globally through innovation and maintaining contacts with the presentation of its comprehensive range of rolling and linear motion bearings for original equipment, trade and replacement, leaving the Hanover Trade Show well satisfied and with a view into the future