Replacing a squeak-prone metal bearing with a plastic one solved a noise problem and cut production costs for a centrifuge manufacturer. The company reduced bearing-associated costs by 93%. Assembly time, for instance, was trimmed by 10 min. The iglide G300 from igus Inc., East Providence, R.I., (igus.com) requires only standard machining tolerances, while the metal version required precise machining and reaming. The Iglide also provides a lateral bearing surface in addition to the rotational. Maintenance, which was grudgingly performed by customers, is completely eliminated.