Smart Molding International 1-2025

23 www.smart-molding.com molding technologies the Zoobrücke, which holds back several tonnes of rubbish every year to prevent it from ending up in the Wadden Sea nature reserve. The motion plastics specialist uses some of this waste as raw material for the plastic bicycle. After this visit, the igus:bike team hit the road to reach further exciting destinations: the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, for example, where RHENAC GreenTec AG uses energy chains from igus in its lawn- lighting system to protect the outdoor facility’s energy and data cables from UV radiation, rain and temperature fluctuations. Or the Eurogate Container Terminal at the Port of Hamburg, where the igus Mobile Shore Power Outlet supplies container ships with shore power quickly and flexibly. And of course cycling through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was a must. The bike is now crossing the German border, making its way to the next stage: Singapore. The urban bike makes is stopping in various countries around the world, including Austria, Italy, Spain, the USA and Japan. It will cover 6,000km during the tour and prove how robust the high-performance plastics from igus are. igus:bike went into series production under the name RCYL Many engineers will also be able to discover new things on the bicycle’s journey around the world. As a pioneer, igus has done a lot of development work to make the first bicycle made from recycled plastic ready for series production. Material experts have developed a plastic compound that is both robust and lightweight and now allows a recycling rate of over 50% – with an upward trend. In addition, production techniques such as injectionmoulding and rotary casting have been combined in such a way that, with the exception of individual components like the disc brakes, almost all bicycle components can now be manufactured from plastic: not only the frame, the seat post and the brake levers, but also the drive unit, which was long considered technically unfeasible in the industry. Last but not least, the challenge was to achieve a realistic sales price, which has now been achieved. The bike is available under the name RCYL. ABOUT igus: igus GmbH develops and produces motion plastics. These lubrication-free, high-performance polymers improve technology and reduce costs wherever things move. In energy supplies, highly flexible cables, plain and linear bearings as well as lead screw technology made of tribo-polymers, igus is the worldwide market leader. The family-run company based in Cologne, Germany, is represented in 31 countries and employs around 5,000 people across the globe. In 2023, igus generated a turnover of €1,136 billion. Research in the industry's largest test laboratories constantly yields innovations and more security for users. 243,000 articles are available from stock and the service life can be calculated online. In recent years, the company has expanded by creating internal startups, e.g. for ball bearings, robot drives, 3D printing, the RBTX platform for Lean Robotics and intelligent "smart plastics" for Industry 4.0. Among the most important environmental investments are the "chainge" programme – recycling of used e-chains - and the participation in an enterprise that produces oil from plastic waste. igus www.igus.eu