igus Blog – News from the igus® divisions

The technology in the igus:bike – the planetary gear

igu-blog-adm | 20. December 2022

A so-called planetary gear is used as the gearbox for the igus:bike. However, this is not a special gearbox that is only used by us, but is a widespread solution, far beyond the bicycle sector. The big difference between our bike gearbox and the competition’s is that ours is made of high-performance plastics, does not […]

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The team behind the igus:bike – The developers of the bicycle components

igu-blog-adm | 1. December 2022

Gearbox, cranks, and pedals  Michael knows how to get everything running smoothly. It’s a good thing, too, since he develops the igus:bike gearbox, cranks, and pedals. So it is an ideal setup.   He has been working as a developer at igus for several years in gearbox systems for Low Cost Automation, comparatively inexpensive automation in […]

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Rethinking wire breakage safety: Identify cable problems early and prevent wire breakage with i.Sense CF.D

Richard Habering | 30. November 2022

Maintaining heavily used and hard-to-reach bus cables faster than ever is what i.Sense CF.D, the igus monitoring module, can do – and nothing else in the world can. The module automatically recognises the positions of stressed areas in a cable and shows them very precisely in metres. The new optical status display now enables users to intervene quickly in a targeted manner, avoiding time-consuming and costly troubleshooting.

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Free design data: DIY large-format 3D printer

Aranca Ehret | 15. November 2022

Can you 3D print components as large as one metre yourself? That is still a challenge today. Therefore, the igus® 3D printing team has designed and assembled a large-format 3D printer and offers the design data for download here. You can also read about the biggest challenges in this post.

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Latest news

The team behind igus:bike – The developers of the bicycle components

igu-blog-adm | 12. January 2023

If only there was a bicycle chain! No, not for an igus:bike Because it has a belt instead of a chain. And since we already had the front drive part with planetary gearbox, crank and pedal, we shifted our focus to developer Tim, because he is completely focused on the rear wheel. Or rather, what makes the wheel move.

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Damage patterns of plain bearings – Part 1: Deformations

Lars Butenschön | 14. December 2022

Damage to plastic plain bearings is often the result of improper assembly, incorrect structural design or incorrect material selection. On the one hand, the nature and mode of operation of the plastic plain bearings place some demands on the dimensioning, design and assembly of the bearing point. On the other hand, compared to metallic bearings, […]

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Saving costs with plain bearings Part 7: Reducing lubrication or avoiding it altogether

Lars Butenschön | 9. December 2022

Lubricating grease and ensuring or maintaining lubrication represent a major cost factor for the operation of many devices and systems. Everything that moves is subject to the laws of friction and wear. To minimise these effects, bearings and other moving parts are often lubricated with grease or oil. In many cases, the sufficient supply of […]

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Reducing costs with plain bearings, Part 6: Optimising maintenance intervals

Lars Butenschön | 2. December 2022

Costs can also be reduced indirectly. Maintenance intervals can be extended with suitable plain bearings. Such bearings require less frequent replacement or re-lubrication. Extending the interval not only reduces costs for maintenance work personnel, but also increases the productive time of the devices and machines. Shorter maintenance intervals than necessary are often chosen in order […]

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