Slewing bearings for tunnelling machines
Whether soft clay or the hardest granite, tunnel boring machines impressively work their way through any kinds of materials and terrains. By significantly shortening the transport routes for people and goods, they are used daily to satisfy the growing need for mobility. Liebherr contributes to this ever-changing environment by providing their perfectly engineered components: Through its even rotation, the cutter head bearing - also called main bearing - ensures that a stable load is maintained on the cutter shield, thereby ensuring the highest bore quality. The erector bearing allows for a complete rotation of the erector, which positions the pre-manufactured concrete segments against the tunnel wall, providing it with stable support.
The right bearing for any application
Cutter head bearings
As the main bearing assures a smooth movement of the cutter head, Liebherr recommends the use of a three-row cylindrical roller bearing. The advantage of this design is that the load transfer within the bearing only occurs horizontally and radially. This means there is less strain on the adjacent construction of the tunnel boring machine, which makes for an optimised machine design. When required by customers, two-row tapered roller bearings can also be used as cutter head bearings.
Erector bearings
Erector bearings are generally used as single-row four-point bearings or crossed roller bearings. In each case, these offer application-specific advantages.
- Four-point bearings are extremely resistant to deformations of the adjacent construction.
- Thanks to their low torque resistance, crossed roller bearings make for low consumption values and longer service life.
Liebherr - a reliable partner from development through to implementation
A reliable partner
With a highly-qualified team, Liebherr is a reliable partner who can accompany you from development right through to customer service. In close cooperation with our customers, our engineers come up with the best possible technical solutions for every case of use.
Test stand for slewing bearings
The most up-to-date manufacturing and testing facilities
The Liebherr machine fleet which ranges from CNC machines to gear milling machines is equipped with the latest production machinery. Innovative manufacturing procedures, such as induction hardening, complete the portfolio.
For slewing bearings serving as main bearings in tunnel boring machines or wind turbines, a special test stand is used. Planetary gearboxes simulate the continual slewing motion of the application, enabling analysis of the actual deformations that occur.
