Would your company like to save multiple hours and cash for every machine you build? MACH 2024 presents Module Connect, a unique and elegant engineering design to help machine users save assembly time. Plus: not one but three low-cost robots will be demonstrated, part of the popular RBTX.com marketplace helping companies automate low-scale but precise tasks on small budgets.

Do you want to save five hours and hundreds of pounds for every machine you build? And do you want an automation system for under £10k?

One igus customer recently cut part of their machine build time from six hours to 28 minutes by using the innovative Module Connect. Module Connect consolidates all services into a single modular connector, saving 80% or more in machine build-time. It is one of two important igus products in high demand on show at MACH 2024, along with RBTX, the revolutionary online platform to specify and trial low-cost, multi-brand automation solutions.

The cleverly designed Module Connect system can combine servo / motor, control, data, feedback/encoder, pneumatics, bus protocols including RJ45 and coaxial cables through a single connection interface, using just two screws. It is built to the customer’s specification, pulling from over 100 industrial connectors. Designed in partnership with Harting, Module Connect housings can feature up to four Harting Han Modular inserts, and users can combine several housings into one large block for large machine applications.

Module Connect works brilliantly for cutting build time for machine OEMs, but igus found it is also an excellent solution in the maintenance industry to cut downtime. “In a damaged cable scenario you can replace the whole damaged chain section – plug out and plug back in. You are not harnessing individual cables,” says Tom Slater, OEM readychain and Module Connect product specialist at igus.

With factory line downtime at some automotive factories and other high value assembly plants costing £10,000 a minute or more, a quick-replace design cable system is a huge advantage. Simply disconnect the cable section and remove – just four screws – continue manufacturing and return to igus for repair.

The connector is super-versatile: accommodating power up to 200amp, 70mm2 cores, and inserts from single pin all the way up to 42 pol. The modular design allows for an endless number of connections but igus can fit up to 100 cores in a single housing..

Module Connect also looks good – increasingly important to machine builders. “Machines are becoming more aesthetically pleasing, due to much higher visibility on the internet and social media,” says Tom Slater. “Companies post images of their machines on LinkedIn, and they need to look good. Module Connect keeps cabling neat and tidy and flush. It’s a solid, single connector rather than lots of ugly-looking wires crossing over.”

It is also green: the locating prongs are made of 3D-printed PLA and are 100% recyclable. End caps are also made of recycled plastic, which igus can recycle. And for every 100 caps igus receives they will plant a tree.

In summary, Module Connect consolidate all cable and air services into one place, and can:

  • Save time on building OEM machines
  • Avoids unplanned downtime in busy factories when cables are damaged
  • Makes machines tidier, create more space

“This product is unique and answers a real need. It is a big time-saver, therefore it’s a money saver,” says Slater.

++++++ Get a Module Connect demonstration at a “Show and Tell” visit to igus – see below. ++++++

Robot sales grow by 1230% in a year

MACH 2024 will showcase two robot cells available on the ground-breaking RBTX.comservice by igus.

The RBTX online platform for building low-cost automation systems was launched in 2021. Partnering with other selected robot and automation equipment providers, RBTX is a marketplace to specify, build, test out and buy automation systems for small, low payload tasks like picking and measuring precise quantities. A typical package covering robot, controller, sensor and gripper costs less than £10,000, and 95% are under £12,000.

At MACH igus will showcase the popular 6-axis ReBeL cobot, featuring end effectors by Schmalz for different gripping actions, a 3 axis igus Delta, and the Scara robot 3 DOF, ideal for use in laboratory work. Plus an education kit for entry-level robotics, including an igus apiro modular drive gearbox system. “igus has increased the number of accessary suppliers on RBTX and we’re building a strong relationship with end effector suppliers Schmalz and Schunk, to help customers get precisely the application they need,” says Low-Cost Automation manager, Adam Sanjurgo.

Recent enquiries have come from a wide range of applications, including medical devices, pipetting and chemical delivery, picking small parts, and food handling, where the Schmalz soft gripper is proving a big favourite. Suckers, cameras and other end-effectors give customers several options – the RBTX model is about choice, trialling, and finding the best combination of equipment for the user’s needs.

The star of the show is ReBeL, igus’s cobot, that has the highest number of product enquiries. “We started in 2020 with fairly low awareness, but last year ReBeL sales rose by a whopping 1230% compared with 2022. As a recognised cobot option, ReBeL is now on buyers’ minds,” says Adam Sanjurgo.

Show and Tell: Have an expert demo of RBTX, igus’s entire low-cost robot range, Module Connect and the “iguverse”

igus in Northampton is running many “Show and Tell” customer events in its customer test area or CTA.

Visiting companies and engineers can see a chosen product demo, discuss with an igus engineer, then take a factory tour. The highlight: don a headset and explore the “iguverse”, igus’s immersive world experience. With virtual reality headsets and guidance, explore some of igus’s products and exciting applications, providing a real haptic and tactile feel – all inside the iguverse.

“We want to invite people to see and touch our products – it really helps the user experience,” Adam says.

igus is exhibiting at MACH 2024 in Hall 18, stand 440, at the NEC Birmingham from 15 to 19 April 2024.