Your entire igus campus in Cologne, the place it researches, produces, and exams, now covers round 218,000 sq. m (2.3 million sq. ft.). Supply: igus GmbH
From movement plastics to humanoid robots, igus GmbH has continued to innovate. Regardless of financial constraints and geopolitical tensions, the Cologne, Germany-based firm yesterday introduced that it made €1.105 billion ($1.19 billion U.S.) in gross sales final 12 months. It’s providing a file variety of 277 new lubrication-free movement plastics merchandise for 2025.
“The altering political and financial situations didn’t depart us completely unaffected,” acknowledged Tobias Vogel, CEO for plain bearings and linear expertise at igus. “Like lots of our clients, we’re additionally specializing in financial savings and elevated effectivity, e.g. by way of elevated automation in our manufacturing facility.”
“Nonetheless, our focus is at all times on the query: What’s in it for the client?” he added. “These challenges are an excellent better incentive for us to interrupt new floor and show our progressive energy ‘made in Germany’ to strengthen each our competitiveness and that of our clients.”
Whereas the VDMA Robotics + Automation Affiliation has expressed concern that the German robotics business has misplaced competitiveness, igus has elevated the variety of energetic clients by 5%. The corporate reported a comparatively reasonable decline in turnover of two.5%.
Based in 1964, igus develops and produces movement plastics, that are lubrication-free, high-performance polymers. The family-run firm mentioned it’s the world market chief in vitality provides, versatile cables, and plain and linear bearings, in addition to lead screw expertise product of tribo-polymers. It employs 5,200 individuals worldwide and has U.S. amenities in Rumford, R.I.
Low Price Automation addresses extra purposes
“There may be nonetheless loads of potential for innovation in German business,” mentioned igus, which cited its Low-Price Automation growth work for example. Its RBTX on-line market contains configuration instruments, free consulting and utility testing, and quite a few merchandise for lean robotics purposes.
“We provide over 200,000 components for automation,” famous Alexander Mühlens, vp and head of the Low-Price Automation enterprise unit at igus. “There are too many boring jobs, even inside igus.”
Functions appropriate for automation, even at igus, embody palletizing and bringing components to molding and drilling machines, he informed The Robotic Report in the course of the firm’s spring media name.
“We’re beginning with AMRs for inside and out of doors purposes,” mentioned Mühlens.
As well as, igus provides assist with integrating all of the applied sciences it provides. “Robotics customers have to combine cameras with robots,” he mentioned. “Our reply is the Robotic Management software program, which makes it straightforward to combine cameras with our SCARA robotic and ReBeL cobots.”
Whereas about 30% of igus’ collaborative robotic arms are utilized in training, 70% are in industrial purposes similar to high quality management, pick-and-place operations, drilling, CNC machine tending, gluing, and printing, Mühlens mentioned.
On the 2025 Robotics Summit & Expo, which can be on April 30 and Could 1 in Boston, igus will show the next applied sciences at Sales space 221 on the present flooring:
- The “axis” on-line neighborhood for the business
- The ReBeL EduMove cell manipulator utilizing open-source software program for training and analysis
- The igus Robotic Management software program
Jan Hennecke, Low-Price Automation product supervisor at igus, will current a session on “The way to Get Your First Robotic Into the Manufacturing facility” on Wednesday, April 30.
Register now so you do not miss out!
igus is constructing its first humanoid
The corporate is growing its first humanoid robotic product of high-performance plastic, notably for its shifting components. The system relies on igus’ ReBeL Transfer wheeled cell robotic, and ReBeL light-weight cobot arms.
“It may be used flexibly and from any location at totally different workstations — with a return on funding [ROI] of lower than one 12 months,” the corporate asserted.
As for goal markets for its humanoid, igus is open to buyer suggestions, Mühlens mentioned. Instance purposes embody greeting clients and a few insertion and meeting duties in factories.
“When it comes to danger analyses, humanoids are simpler to start out with in manufacturing vegetation than in eating places,” mentioned Mühlens, who added that the robotic can be designed for protected human-machine interplay.
“Humanoids are the long run in a world designed for people,” he mentioned. “We’ll be presenting at Hannover Messe 2025.”
In keeping with its motto, ‘Go Zero Lubrication,’ igus is presenting 277 plastic improvements this 12 months, from PTFE-free supplies and an entire vitality chain collection made out of recycled supplies to a humanoid robotic. Supply: igus GmbH
Movement plastics chief seems to be to spice up sustainability
Along with presenting 277 new movement plastics merchandise, igus is constant to put money into the analysis, growth, and manufacturing of progressive applied sciences. The corporate mentioned it’s producing a model of its igludur plain bearings freed from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon) at related value factors and efficiency to straightforward bearings.
igus is changing its total E2.1 collection of vitality chains to recycled materials from previous fishing nets and vitality chains that it recycles as a part of its Chainge program. It claimed that this may cut back the CO2 footprint by 80%.
The corporate mentioned it has reached 92% towards its goal of being CO2-neutral with its buildings and manufacturing by the tip of 2025, measured in opposition to Scopes 1 and a couple of.
“We have to grow to be even higher on this space and are engaged on quite a few sustainability measures, from the brand new multi-story automotive park with full façade greening to the modernization of our current buildings … with photovoltaic programs to the growth of our MHRS system for heating with waste warmth from machines,” defined Michael Blass, CEO of e-chain programs at igus.
The corporate additionally introduced the igus Cellular Shore Energy Outlet (iMSPO) for the shore energy provide of container and cruise ships. The system is already in use in ports similar to Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Singapore.
With Fraunhofer IPA, igus has developed a brand new certificates that confirms the cleanroom suitability of its e-chains in long-term exams. They’ll stand up to over 15 million double strokes with minimal and constant particle emissions, which is necessary in battery manufacturing.
With its emphasis on controlling prices for patrons, igus is providing the brand new G4.42 vitality chain for easy gliding purposes similar to on indoor cranes with journey distances of as much as 30 m (98.4 ft.). Due to the G4.42’s optimized design, it’s not solely 12 to 25% lighter, but in addition 30% to 40% more cost effective than normal chains of the identical dimensions from the E2 and E4 product vary, mentioned igus.
The corporate famous that it has expanded by creating inner startups for programs similar to ball bearings, robotic drives, 3D printing, and clever “sensible plastics” for Business 4.0. It additionally confirmed off the principally plastic RCYL bike, which is at the moment on a world tour to indicate the probabilities of recycled supplies with igus engineering.
The igus low-maintenance bicycle made out of recycled plastic is now on a world tour. Supply: igus GmbH
igus invests in German, world presence
“Within the final 5 years, we now have invested over €350 million [$377.2 million] in Cologne alone — in land, buildings, state-of-the-art machines, software program, new merchandise, individuals and advertising,” mentioned Vogel.
With final month’s acquisition of elko Verbindungstechnik, which produces cables and plug-in connectors utilized in machine instruments and the automotive business, igus is build up its meeting capability in southern Germany. At its Cologne headquarters, igus is investing in automation similar to specifically developed and patented crimp towers and automatic guided autos (AGVs) in its manufacturing facility buildings.
The corporate has additionally expanded its manufacturing corridor and take a look at laboratory in Germany, in addition to in its branches in Shanghai, China, and Bangalore, India.
“The shopper is on the middle of all our actions,” mentioned Blass. “After introducing injection molding within the U.S., we’re now additionally organising on-site lead screw manufacturing and have opened our personal RBTX buyer testing space for low-cost robotics.”
“Which means 10 nations now have their very own buyer take a look at areas in order that customers can rapidly and simply discover their particular person Low-Price Automation answer on web site,” he mentioned. “Three of those places — USA, China, Brazil — can be expanded into regional hubs, in order that manufacturing and growth can even be more and more localized. We’re additionally investing within the growth of branches in different nations similar to Japan, Spain, Taiwan and Poland.”
