Compact, low carbon and cost-effective energy management

igus has developed snapchain 2.0, a sustainable energy chain especially for simple, flat cable packages made of 100% recyclates. Energy is supplied on one side of the slim chain in which the cables can be fixed with cable ties.

In many everyday applications such as cash registers, storage systems, office furniture and even slot machines, space for the safe guidance of cables is a big design challenge. To help solve this, 20 years ago igus developed the snapchain. The solution comprises a single side band in which cables are fitted and guided in a defined bending radius, providing an energy supply for the smallest installation spaces, and which is well-proven worldwide.

Now igus has developed the snapchain further. “We want to give our customers even more flexibility in the packaging of the chain,” says Justin Leonard, e-chain and cables director at igus UK. “So we changed the design so that the cables can now be even more easily contained with commercially available cable ties.”

Cable ties are simply threaded into the side panel, guided around the cable package and closed. The second important feature of snapchain 2.0 is in its manufacture, where it uses the fully recycled material igumid CG as standard.

From old to new

igumid CG is made from 100% recycled energy chains. As part of its own chainge programme, igus has recycled energy chains, independent of the original manufacturer, since 2019. The plastic material is sorted by type, cleaned, and prepared for processing into virgin quality material. The recycled material is then turned into igumid CG, which has already been used successfully in igus’s cradle-chain E2.1 energy chain series since early 2022.

In a series of tests in its 3,800m² laboratory at igus in Cologne, igumid CG e-chains performed well for tensile force and fracture torque. These recycled e-chains make a valuable contribution to resource conservation, carbon reduction and thus promotes the circular economy. According to the Environment Product Declaration, an ISO standard that quantifies environmental information on the life cycle of a product, this raw material cycle can also save 28% of CO2 in the product.

“snapchain 2.0 is a cost-effective all-round package, and It provides our customers with a reliable and sustainable product that can be installed quickly,” says Leonard. “It is the second e-chain series that we produce as standard from our recycled material and at the end of its life, it can also be 100% recycled.”