igus launches energy chain made entirely of recycled materials

        ‘Cradle to cradle’ is an important concept that emphasizes a nature-based circular economy, advocating that consumer goods are returned to the biological or technological cycle to save precious resources and raw materials. Motion plastics expert igus is also working towards the same goal and has launched the world's first drag chain made entirely of recycled materials, all of which come from the chainge drag chain recycling program.

        From extreme weather to natural disasters to marine pollution, the climate crisis is getting worse and more and more people are becoming aware of it. "Even customers are paying more and more attention to the sustainability of products when ordering them. So we have invested a lot of energy in product research and development, and are committed to producing more resource-saving products without sacrificing product quality. ", explains Jörg Ottersbach, head of the igus drag chain business unit. One of the results is a new drag chain E2.1.CG made of the new igumid CG material, and these drag chains made of recycled materials are named "cradle drag chains". Extensive tests carried out in igus's internal laboratories have shown that the technical characteristics and load-bearing capacity of the new series of drag chains are comparable to those made of standard igumid G materials. In addition, its price is not much different from that of drag chains made of standard materials. The new drag chain category "cradle" currently offers 5 series and 28 drag chains, which are available from stock.

        From waste drag chains to recycled materials

        The new cradle drag chain is made entirely of recycled materials, all of which come from the chainge drag chain recycling program. This recycling program was launched by igus in 2019 and advocates the recycling of waste plastic drag chains from customers to prevent these waste drag chains from becoming industrial waste. The recycling program is not only for igus engineering plastic drag chains, but also accepts plastic drag chains from other manufacturers. So far, igus has recycled more than 32 tons of materials from 13 countries. The recycling target for 2022 is 500 tons. For the recycled waste materials, igus will sort, clean and process them by type to make them look brand new. In this process, the recycled materials will also be chemically analyzed and their ingredients will be appropriately adjusted to optimize them to improve their performance, thereby ensuring that the products made of recycled materials are still of high quality. Optimized recycled materials, such as igumid CG, will be made into new drag chains, which igus named "cradle drag chains". Their wear resistance, stability and bending fatigue strength remain unchanged, and the quality remains consistent.

        Sustainably recycled raw materials, 28% less CO2 emissions

        Making drag chains from recycled materials is a new attempt by igus to save resources and develop a circular economy. According to the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), this sustainably recycled raw material can reduce CO2 emissions by 28%. Jörg Ottersbach added: "Our focus is not only on the first use of the product, but also on the reuse of raw materials. We believe that the potential of 'cradle to cradle' is huge, and we strive to reuse as many raw materials and waste products as possible so that precious resources are not wasted and can be used efficiently in the long term.