Efficient, cost-effective, suitable for everyday use: from cobots to AGVs, robots carry out monotonous tasks and relieve employees

YFewer tedious tasks, faster processes and greater efficiency: plastics specialist igus relies on extensive automation in its own production and logistics. Over 1,500 applications such as cobots, autonomous vehicles and delta robots are already in use, and the number is growing every day. The message: automation doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

There are jobs that hardly anyone wants to do any more, such as removing excess plastic from injection-moulded components – thousands of times a day. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to inspire people for such routine activities. This is more than understandable”, confirms Alexander Mühlens, Head of Business Unit Low Cost Automation at igus. “We have therefore launched an initiative called ‘No boring jobs’. By automating simple tasks, we want to support employees, relieve them of monotonous and boring tasks and make processes more efficient.”

Passing on automation knowledge

What started out as a small project has picked up speed: igus has already automated 1,500 applications cost-effectively with robots in its own production facility in Cologne. A further 1,000 robotics applications are planned for the next two years. “Among other things, we have gained considerable experience in our own production and developed and commissioned dozens of applications with a return on investment of less than three months. We want to pass this knowledge on to customers who were previously put off by the high costs and complexity of conventional automation solutions. The robotics trade show automatica 2025 offers the perfect opportunity for this.” Companies can replicate all automation solutions that igus uses in-house or put them into operation fully assembled on site. The basis for this is the online platform RBTX.de/en-GB. Here you will find over 1,000 low-cost robots and components such as grippers and vision systems from over 200 manufacturers. They all can be combined according to the modular principle and come with a compatibility guarantee. “Our motto is: robotics for everyone, even for small companies with low budgets and little automation experience”,” says Mühlens.

Cobot ReBeL: investment amortised in just eight weeks

The articulated arm robot ReBeL, a cobot made of high-performance plastic, costs just €4,970. Thanks to intuitive software, defining movements is as easy as playing a computer game. Mühlens explains: “The cobot is therefore ideal for simple pick & place tasks or as an assembly tool – activities for which large industrial robots would be completely oversized.” igus shows that the ReBeL proves its worth by carry out these ‘boring jobs’ on a daily basis in its own production facility. There, the ReBeL drills thousands of threads in rod ends every day and marks components in the extrusion process with an inkjet printing unit on its robot hand. It never gets tired and or bored. “The return on investment (ROI) was achieved after just eight weeks”, emphasises Mühlens.

Autonomous vehicles, sprue pickers and delta robots

The other automation solutions from igus also achieve similarly fast ROIs. This is demonstrated, for example, by the ReBeL Move. The autonomous mobile robot on four wheels transports components weighing up to 200kg through the igus factories. The vehicle can be set up within 15 minutes via an app. “The costs of around €30,000 were amortised in just under eight months”,” explains Mühlens. Automation solutions that remove the plastic sprue from moulded components on the more than 1,000 injection-moulding machines at igus were even quicker. “The investment was refinanced after just six months.” Another example: delta robots that place chain links from energy chains into an automatic assembly machine. Here, the costs of around €40,000 were recouped within ten months. “All these examples show that nowadays, it is possible for many companies to reliably automate routine processes with a manageable budget and little previous experience. This means that they are affected less by the shortage of skilled labour. We support them in this endeavour.”