igus® Develops One-Piece, Space-Saving Energy Chain for Compact Applications
igus® Develops One-Piece, Space-Saving Energy Chain for Compact Applications |
igus® has designed a one-piece, injection-molded energy chain in its E1 series, offering a simplified and more reliable cable management solution for highly compact spaces.
Designers often skip cable guides in small installations — such as in food vending machines, laboratory equipment or electric doors — risking cable damage and increasing maintenance costs. This new, compact energy chain is engineered to close that gap.
Made from a single piece of high-performance plastic, the E1 chain is more cost-effective than traditional assembled chains. Its unique easy-chain principle allows users to push individual cables through flexible teeth without tools, securing them and defining a controlled bend radius. This protection prevents cables from chafing, kinking and breaking, ensuring a longer system service life.
“We received positive feedback from designers around the world who have been searching in vain for a cost-effective cable guide solution for compact installation spaces,” says Kira Weller, Product Manager for e-chains at igus.
To accelerate its transition to high-volume production, igus is actively seeking design engineers for pilot projects. The company aims to collaborate with users to adapt the e-chain for various applications, including those with extremely short movements of only 40 millimeters.
Learn more at: www.igus.com.
About igus®
igus GmbH develops and produces motion plastics. These self-lubricating, high-performance polymers improve technology and reduce costs wherever things move. In energy supplies, highly flexible cables, plain and linear bearings, and lead screw technology made of tribo-polymers, igus is the worldwide market leader. The family-run company based in Cologne, Germany, is represented in 35 countries and employs 4,600 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 user security. Two hundred 234,000 articles are available from stock, and service life can be calculated online. In recent years, the company has expanded by creating internal startups, for example, ball bearings, robot drives, 3D printing, the RBTX platform for Lean Robotics, and intelligent "smart plastics" for Industry 4.0. Among the most significant environmental investments are the "chainge" program – recycling used e-chains and participating in an enterprise that produces oil from plastic waste.