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The motion plastics specialist igus is now further expanding its customer service. Customer service employees can now also be reached via WhatsApp. Customers now have the option of conveniently using the igus live chat via the popular messaging platform to receive quick and uncomplicated support.
The seventh edition of the Smart Green Island Makeathon took place in Gran Canaria. The ITQ GmbH Innovation Festival invites students, universities and companies from all over the world to work together on innovative projects for application areas such as smart farming, robotics and the circular economy. The aim is to get young people excited about technology and drive digitalisation worldwide in the interest of sustainability. The Cologne-based plastics specialist and robot manufacturer igus also took part for the fourth time as one of the top sponsors. The Low Cost Automation experts supported the students on site with their expertise and robotics solutions, such as the ReBeL cobot.
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.
In March 2024, igus acquired the majority stake in Portuguese company Atronia Tailored Sensing. The sensor specialist has been enabling plastic products from Cologne to feel for five years now. With this strategic step, igus intends to expand their offer in the market for networked plastic components. The aim is to mass-produce Industry 4.0 products and make them accessible to small and medium-sized companies.
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.
Lubricants are as much a part of everyday industrial life as a cup of coffee every morning. And they amount to $240 billion a year across the globe. At the same time, machine downtime worth $750 billion per year is caused by inadequate lubrication. igus now combines 60 years of motion plastics expertise with hundreds of thousands of test data and millions of applications in an AI that immediately takes users to lubrication-free movements in their systems. From excavators and agricultural tractors to water turbines, everything has already been successfully tried and tested. A study by RWTH Aachen University demonstrates the explosive nature of the topic. At the Hannover Messe, the plastics specialist is presenting 247 new products, showing that everybody can achieve “zero lubrication”.
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.
If companies don’t have time to travel to a trade show, the trade show pays them a visit: for mobile roadshows throughout Europe, igus now sends a new XXL truck on its way. Like a Transformer, the lorry changes into a trade show stand with a roof terrace for customers on site. On board: innovations made of lubrication-free and durable high-performance plastics that increase productivity while reducing costs. Interested companies can book the roadshow now.
Cologne/Hanover, 21st February 2024 – To support industrial companies with the challenges of our time, such as the transformation to Industry 4.0 and CO2-neutral production, Cologne-based motion plastics specialist igus is relying on triple intelligence at the Hannover Messe: artificial intelligence, plastics intelligence and Cologne intelligence. The exhibits include smart sensor technology for the maintenance of tomorrow and AI-supported low-cost robotics that are easy to operate. igus will also be presenting an AI-based app that shows design engineers the optimisation potential of their application with lubrication-free motion plastics in a matter of seconds.
For the first time, a joint study by scientists from RWTH Aachen University and igus shows the costs that can be saved in applications if lubrication-free polymer bearings from igus are used instead of conventional metal bearings: up to €14 million per year. Also a first: the study calculates the environmental impact – at the Heineken brewery, among others.