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

  • Tunnel boring machine with Liebherr slewing bearings
    Liebherr slewing bearings are used in tunnel boring machines as cutter head or erector bearings.

    Tunnel boring machine with Liebherr slewing bearings

    Liebherr slewing bearings are used in tunnel boring machines as cutter head or erector bearings.

  • Triple-row cylindrical roller bearing
    This type of bearing is synonymous with high precision, high radial load-bearing and, consequently, long service life.

    Triple-row cylindrical roller bearing

    This type of bearing is synonymous with high precision, high radial load-bearing and, consequently, long service life.

    Roller bearing slewing rings from Liebherr
  • Single-row four-point bearings
    Used as erector bearings in tunnel boring machines, our four-point bearings are specifically engineered to fit the needs of this application.

    Single-row four-point bearings

    Used as erector bearings in tunnel boring machines, our four-point bearings are specifically engineered to fit the needs of this application.

    Ball-bearing slewing rings from Liebherr
  • Cross roller bearings
    The rollers on cross roller bearings alternately share the loads in both directions, thereby generating low, even torque resistance.

    Cross roller bearings

    The rollers on cross roller bearings alternately share the loads in both directions, thereby generating low, even torque resistance.

    Roller bearing slewing rings from Liebherr
  • 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.

    A reliable partner

    Liebherr - a reliable partner from development through to implementation

    Liebherr - a reliable partner from development through to implementation

    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

    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.

    Liebherr as a system supplier

    From a railway tunnel in Siberia to a metro line in Mumbai – renowned global companies use Liebherr main drive bearings and erector slewing bearings for numerous tunneling projects around the world. Together with Liebherr's innovative components, they form a well-established team – trustable, tough, tried and tested. Find out more about our reliable components for tunneling! More information

    Downloads

    Video

    State-of-the-art development and manufacturing equipment is used for slewing bearings, gearboxes and rope winches in the production centre in Biberach.
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    State-of-the-art development and manufacturing equipment is used for slewing bearings, gearboxes and rope winches in the production centre in Biberach. View video
    State-of-the-art development and manufacturing equipment is used for slewing bearings, gearboxes and rope winches in the production centre in Biberach.
    We need your consent This YouTube video is provided by Google*. If you load the video, your data - including your IP address - is transmitted to Google and may be stored and processed by Google inter alia in the USA. We have no influence over further data processing by Google. By clicking on "Accept", you consent to the transmission of data to Google for this video in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR and at the same time expressly consent to the transfer of data to the USA in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. If you no longer wish to consent to each YouTube video individually in the future and wish to be able to load the videos without this blocker, you can also select "Always accept YouTube" and thereby consent to the associated data transmissions and transfers to Google and to the USA for all other YouTube videos which you open on our website in the future. Please note that, in the opinion of the European Court of Justice, there does not currently exist an adequate level of data protection in line with EU standards in the USA, and at present we cannot provide suitable safeguards to protect your data and offset this shortcoming. Possible risks to you of data transfer to the USA are that access by state authorities cannot be excluded and that your data could be processed for reasons of national security, criminal prosecution or for other purposes in the public interest of the USA, possibly without you being informed separately and without enforceable rights and effective means of redress being available to you. You can withdraw consent that you have given at any time with future effect via the settings. For further information, please see our Data Protection Declaration and Google's Privacy Policy. *Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Irland; Mutterunternehmen: Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

    Engineering expertise

    As an engineering partner for slewing bearings, Liebherr uses state-of-the-art processes - starting from development through to production. Engineering for slewing bearings