Owning a car is becoming less and less important for many young people in cities. Studies show that the proportion of pedestrians and bicycles is increasing significantly, especially in urban areas. The car as a status symbol is losing its appeal – instead, the focus is shifting to sustainable, flexible and low-maintenance mobility solutions. JetBike GmbH from Braunschweig is embracing this change and presenting a pioneering solution with the JetBike: an innovative combination of e-bike and car. To fulfil the requirements regarding sustainability and ease of maintenance, the company relies on lubrication-free polymer bearings from igus.
A faulty power connection on a lorry ramp can bring the entire logistics process to a standstill. Cable reels with slip rings are a common weak point. With the e-spool flex, igus is launching a new type of solution that does not require slip rings (which are susceptible to faults) and allows for a reliable power supply – even under harsh conditions.
igus is expanding its range of harnessed readycable for moving industrial applications. New additions to the portfolio are cables with plug connections for systems from Keyence, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automation and quality assurance solutions. Designers can immediately connect the ready-to-connect cables to moving high-speed cameras using the plug-and-play principle, for example, and thus make them even more fail-safe – without time-consuming and error-prone in-house designs.
The AX-1 robot from Norwegian start-up Kilter applies herbicides to weeds with such precision that the use of chemicals is reduced by up to 95% – thanks to AI and sensor technology. To ensure that the autonomous helper is also gentle on the soil, the developers rely on lightweight and lubrication-free linear technology from the igus drylin series.
Customised automation doesn’t have to be expensive. Metaprint AS from Estonia, one of the largest manufacturers of aerosol packaging in Europe, demonstrates this. The company now uses an XXL linear robot from igus to load a printing machine. Compared to conventional systems, this Low Cost Automation solution reduces investment costs and is also easy to put into operation thanks to the plug & program function.