Company
Cradle-to-cradle: This is the principle of the circular economy, which is abased on nature. The aim: to return consumer goods to the biological or technical cycle in order to conserve valuable resources and raw materials. The motion plastics specialist igus is also pursuing this goal and has now developed the world’s first energy chain made from recycled material on the basis of its own “chainge” e-chain recycling program.
igus’s cost-effective robotics and automation solutions automate packaging, sort products, and help with dangerous tasks in everyday work. In 2022, the motion plastics specialist will once again be presenting the ROIBOT Award for the most creative applications. The judges are looking for projects that have achieved a quick return on investment using igus Low Cost Automation and drylin drive axes. The winners will receive a robotics package of their choice from the RBTX.com marketplace worth up to 5,000 euros.
Customers of motion plastics products – from drive cables to gears – continued to receive a very high proportion of their orders quickly in 2021. The 2019 plan to invest in production and supply chain helped meet the surge in demand. This intense scale-up will continue until 2023, also with a view to the Ukraine conflict. The enterprise’s goal gained focus: improve what moves in a CO2-neutral manner, with zero plastic waste and become “the easiest company to deal with.”
Cologne, 21th February 2022 – igus aims at further strengthening the company’s successful training model. In the “Germany’s Best Training Companies in 2022” study, the motion plastics specialist was awarded the third prize in the category rubber and plastics industry companies for its commitment to supporting young talent. But how does igus promote the next generation of skilled workers specifically? One answer: with their own trainee company.
Many designers of special machines and prototypes are under pressure. If they urgently need custom toothed belt discs beyond off-the-shelf products, delivery often takes several weeks. A waiting time that the 3D-printing service from igus has reduced to 48 hours. Users do not have to compromise on quality. On the contrary, the test series in the igus laboratory showed a significantly longer service life of the tribo-material for laser sintering compared to milled and injection-moulded POM parts.
Bevel gears are suitable as drive elements in order to be able to transmit forces at a 90 degree angle. Especially for simple tasks, igus has now developed bevel gears made of two abrasion-resistant, durable high-performance plastics. They are not only lightweight and cost-effective, but also completely free of external lubrication. This reduces the time and cost of maintenance.
Machine components made of plastic have long since become indispensable in industry. So it is natural to ask what the recycling situation will be at the end of their service life. One possible answer is provided by the motion plastics specialist igus. In the chainge recycling programme, customers can send discarded energy and energy chains to igus for recycling in exchange for a value voucher, regardless of the manufacturer. One of the companies that has tried this out is the machine manufacturer Busch Microsystems.
In 1964, they founded igus in their back yard garage in Cologne-Mülheim. In 2021, the internationally active company supplies customers all over the world with its lubrication-free and maintenance-free motion plastics. On the occasion of the founders’ 90th birthday, igus is bringing that garage back to life.
A win-win situation for employees and the environment: in the company “reguse”, founded by igus trainees themselves, disused electrical appliances are processed and offered to colleagues in their own webshop at a low cost for private use. The proceeds will be donated to sustainable projects. The programme is another example of how igus actively promotes young talent initiatives. For this, the motion plastics specialist has now been awarded as one of the best MINT employers.
Four times the excitement: for the first time, the manus award, a joint initiative by igus, a motion plastics specialist, recognises four contestants. The prize showcases fascinating, creative uses of plain bearings. The tenth gold manus award goes to Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG for its PowerBully. Silver goes to a radio-controlled, battery-driven felling wedge. Bronze goes to a sun protection facade system with a shape memory alloy. The first-ever green manus was awarded for a sustainable project. It went to an intelligent solar-powered rubbish bin from Finland.