The starting signal has been given, the igus:bike® is on a world tour. To celebrate igus’s 60th birthday, the innovative, bright orange bicycle made from recycled plastic will be travelling the world for a whole year. The aim: to familiarise industry partners, media representatives and consumers with a new form of urban mobility that combines a fun ride with sustainability. The urban bike represents many of the advantages of igus products, the “motion plastics”: it does not rust, requires no oil and is virtually maintenance-free. The ball bearings, drive and freewheel also do not need lubricating as they are made from high-performance plastics. At the same time, the igus:bike is an example of how the transformation to a sustainable circular economy of plastics can succeed.
In applications with loads of more than 80Mpa, plain bearings made of thermoplastic materials can be pushing their limits. igus has expanded the existing range of standard plain bearings with the new igutex fibre wound plain bearing series. The series displays its strength in heavy-duty areas such as construction machinery or hoists. The latest development in the product family is the material igutex TX3. It offers an even higher running performance with high dynamic forces than previous igutex bearings.
Beaming faces at J&M Manufacturing: the US company won the golden manus award 2023 at the Hannover Messe 2023. The competition honours creative projects with plastic plain bearings. This year’s winner was able to impress with the sustainable and economical use of lubrication-free polymer bearings in a new type of agricultural implement. The other award winners were also in the mood to celebrate: the French company Aufratech won the silver manus award with an exoskeleton. Fiedler Maschinenbau came in third with a telescopic high-pressure cleaner for municipal vehicles. The German company Rockinger Agriculture GmbH is delighted with the green manus award for its lubrication-free ball coupling.