Predictive Maintenance, Cleanroom Solutions, and Energy Chain Recycling – igus Innovations

igus recently unveiled several advancements in its flexible plastic energy chains—known as e‑chains—used across robotics and automation. The company is now accepting used e‑chains from any manufacturer for recycling, having already reclaimed one to two tons of cable since December.

For clean‑room environments, igus introduced its first “clean cable system.” The system features a snap‑open, flat modular sleeve—referred to as an e‑skin—that can be opened and closed quickly, enabling rapid expansion or replacement of e‑chains. A new e‑chain support module extends travel distances beyond previous limits. To validate the technology, igus has established an ISO Class 1 clean‑room laboratory at its German headquarters.

Condition‑monitoring sensors embedded in the “smart” e‑chains enable predictive and preventive maintenance. A compact electronic hub now links all sensors to a junction box, which transmits data to the customer’s or igus’s servers. An intuitive dashboard presents real‑time maintenance status.

Other new offerings include the ecw wear‑detection sensor for e‑chains, which connects directly to the igus cloud and is priced at roughly $500. igus also supplies the eci wear sensor for non‑lubricated “smart bearings,” available in five variants. The ecp push‑pull force‑detection sensor has received a new ecpr version capable of operating over 1 000 m of travel.

The ecpp position sensor, already adopted by an overhead‑crane supplier, reports position data and has reportedly cut crane installation time by four to six days.

Finally, igus has released software that pairs with the CFD cable condition‑monitoring sensor. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, the tool predicts cable life expectancy. One customer has used the system to reach 50 million cycles on bread‑packaging machinery running at 120 pieces per minute.

‘Smart’ igus e‑chains with condition‑monitoring sensors facilitate predictive and preventive maintenance.