Your application in the spotlight at the 10th vector award

The terminal operator Cruise Port Rotterdam won the golden vector award for the use of the igus® Mobile Shore Power Outlet (iMSPO), a mobile shore power system for harbor terminals. It works with a track system on which a trolley moves, which transports the cables in rol e-chains® which roll instead of glide and are made of high-performance plastic. They move in covered guide troughs in the floor of the quay. Thanks to this system, cruise ships in the harbor can be supplied directly with shore power, switch off their diesel generators and avoid emissions.

Jenaer Antriebstechnik GmbH wins the silver vector award for the use of cleanroom-compatible flat cables of the e-skin flat series in combination with chainflex cables for energy and data guidance. This is used in pick & place solutions that place components in a positioning range of 0.1µm. Their systems achieve accelerations of up to 100m/s2 with a repeat accuracy of ±0.1 micrometers. Thanks to the igus components used, disruptive forces and frictional influences are minimized.

The bronze vector was won by the Royal Ballet & Opera in London for the use of the zig-zag e-chain system for the energy and data guidance of the lighting trusses in the theatre. After 25 years of successful use of this system, the lighting was converted to LED technology. This resulted in new requirements such as weight and load on the structure. One challenge was the pendulum deflection of the e-chains, which could be significantly reduced by a reverse zig-zag arrangement and ensures that the system functions perfectly even with the new requirements.

The green vector was won by the company Membion GmbH for the use of e-chains and chainflex® cables in the production line for the manufacture of membrane bioreactors, which even filter bacteria and microplastics. This enables sewage treatment plants to filter their water in accordance with increasingly stringent requirements and ensure the right water quality. In the production of these membrane bioreactors, the chain and cable must function in a confined space with small bend radii. igus products are the solution here.