Handling containers around the clock under extreme conditions – this is the daily routine of STS, RMG and RTG cranes in ports around the world. However, premature wear and breakdowns of the wheel and axis units, the bogies, place an enormous burden on operators. In Rotterdam, igus will be presenting a solution at TOC Europe from 11th to 13th June 2024: wound, lubrication-free and corrosion-resistant polymer bearings from the igutex series for heavy-duty applications.
Mobile robotic systems are being used in more and more work areas, from e-commerce warehouses to modern restaurants. Conventional models on the market start at around €25,000, while solutions with an integrated robot arm are priced at approx. €70,000 (prices may vary in your country). However, widespread use is often unaffordable for small and medium-sized companies due to the high prices. igus wants to change this with new low-cost robotics offerings and is presenting a series of low-cost mobile plastic robots at the Hannover Messe.
RCYL starts a new chapter in sustainable mobility. The former igus:bike is now called RCYL – a bicycle made from 50 per cent recycled fishing nets. For the moving components, igus relies on its lubrication-free, rust-free and recyclable high-performance plastics – “zero lubrication”. With series production in Cologne, igus is setting a milestone: the plastics company aims to produce 5,000 bicycles by next season. This, however, is just the beginning. The aim is to establish local production at landfill sites around the world and thus close the plastic cycle.
After two years of rapid growth totalling 57 per cent, igus was able to maintain its billion-euro turnover in 2023 despite the challenging global economic situation. In 2024, the company will invest in 247 new motion plastics products and digital services. More favourable and better solutions for lubrication-free movements, low-cost automation and CO2-reducing products are the focal points. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has now made it possible to bundle hundreds of thousands of test data and millions of applications from 60 years of igus experience into a simple solution finder for the “Zero Lubrication” goal: the igusGO app. 433 million euros of investment in the last three years, around half of it in Germany alone, is accelerating this technical progress and delivery from stock worldwide. This trend is set to continue in 2024.
The champagne corks are popping in Portugal, more precisely at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences at the University of Lisbon. The researchers won the golden vector award 2024 for their MOONS spectrograph. Every two years, igus honours the most spectacular energy chain applications with this award – this year among 328 entries from 37 countries. The silver vector goes to the company TDK RF Solutions, which has developed a test rig for driver assistance systems, the bronze vector to MECAoctet for their movable nightclub ceiling. Bear Machines GmbH was delighted to receive the green vector for particularly sustainable energy chain applications for a machine that automatically recuts tyres.