DS-JUN22-PG17_Layout 1 23/06/2022 11:04 Page 1
MATERIALS IN DESIGN FEATURE
igus unveils the world's first urban bike made from recycled plastic
Earlier this month, igus launched the world’s first all-plastic urban bicycle for the UK market at The Engineering Expo, part of Manufacturing & Engineering Week. Using the igus expertise in plastics for motion, the bike is designed
to be assembled and supplied by approved partners – so igus has made the engineering design and all key components available to all bicycle manufacturers via the new igus:bike platform. The first model should be available by the end of the year. igus:bike was conceived to address a serious problem: the world is
drowning in plastic waste. Huge piles of plastic in landfill sites are growing fast. Some of this plastic ends up in the ocean and can enter the food chain, becoming a danger to marine, animal and human life. igus has invested in ideas for recycling plastics for many years. So, this
urban bike is robust, durable and made entirely of plastic – from the frame to its bearings and the toothed belt. A special feature of the new bike is that the recycled version will be primarily made of reused ‘single use’ plastics.
“the igus:bike does not rust” The igus:bike is easier to own and run than any other bike. Owners can leave the single-speed bike outdoors in all weathers and clean it in seconds with a garden hose. Lightweight, lubrication-free high-performance plastics are used in all parts of the bicycle, from two-component ball bearings in the wheel bearings to plain bearings in the seat post, brake levers and pedals. All these components have integrated solid lubricants and ensure low-
friction dry operation – without a single drop of lubricating oil. This ensures that sand, dust and dirt cannot accumulate and gum-up working parts. These tribo-plastics from igus have been used successfully for a long
time and are used in more than 70 industries: from automobiles to tractors and robots. And they have also had many fans in the bicycle industry for decades, with plastic parts proving their worth there for years in applications such as mountain bikes and e-cargo bikes.
innovation with experience from industry In igus’s development laboratories, eight developers are currently working on all moving components of the all-plastic bicycle. Ball bearings, brakes, sprockets, gears and drives are being coordinated by Andreas Hermey, the development manager for energy chains, in close cooperation with the bicycle start-up MTRL from The Netherlands. Tried and tested existing developments from igus were adapted to the new application. The result is smooth-operating, quiet, and durable plastic components that give suppliers globally the chance to benefit from the igus:bike platform.
a platform for manufacturers The igus:bike platform offers bicycle manufacturers all over the world the opportunity to jointly improve this technology. The online platform continuously shows the status and progress of all components and explicitly invites market players to participate. The platform is intended to become a contact point for manufacturers who want to build a plastic bicycle and for all manufacturers of suitable components, such as plastic frames, wheels, drives, and pinions. The platform is already hosting initial corporate collaborations, for example
Helix.eco for recycled plastics. Many more will follow. “We want to enable the bicycle industry to produce plastic bikes,” said Frank Blase, igus CEO. Another partner is Dutch start-up MTRL that has successfully put 400
bicycles with plastic frames and wheels onto the Netherlands' roads. “Founders Johannes and Benjamin Alderse Baas are partners who share our vision completely,” says Blase, himself an investor in MTRL. “Together, we are refining the all-plastic bicycle. We have lots more ideas, such as installing condition monitoring using igus smart plastics. The owner would use their smartphone to see how many more thousands of kilometres the bike can take. That will hopefully convince many people who are still sceptical about plastic.”
igus
www.igus.co.uk UK-1131-smart plastics
94x270N_CC.indd 1 JUNE 2022 DESIGN SOLUTIONS 17 23.11.20 16:35
smart plastics
Avoid unplanned downtime
Industry 4.0: smart plastics
eliminate downtime Intelligent products give a maintenance alert ahead of time and can be integrated into standard predictive maintenance; smart plas- tics allow your equipment to run continuously as well as reducing maintenance costs.
igus.co.uk/smart igus
® ® Caswell Road Northampton NN4 7PW
Tel 01604 677240
sales@igus.co.uk plastics for longer life
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66
