e-chain® Systems for Automated Greenhouses

• What was needed: E2/000 Series e-chain® supplied as a preassembled readychain® system
• Requirements: system must be able to handle an uneven floor, long travel distances, a high weight of the media and constant contact with water required robust and safe guidance. The customer also required a guarantee for at least 1.5 million cycles
• Industry: Agriculture
• Success for the customer: Laboratory data shows that the e-chain® is available for at least 2 million cycles. The cable management system guides all media flawlessly at high speeds and accelerations in challenging environmental conditions over a long period of time.

If vegetables are grown in rock wool or coconut fiber instead of soil, they are referred to as “organic vegetables.” They are supplied with a precisely dosed, nutrient‑rich solution. This approach offers several advantages, including independence from weather, climate, and soil conditions. The startup CleanGreens (formerly CombaGroup), founded in 2011, focuses on the use of a globally unique aeroponic system — a form of hors‑sol cultivation in which plants grow in the air rather than in soil.

In Switzerland, CleanGreens operates a 600‑square‑meter pilot greenhouse that achieves yields approximately 10 to 15 times higher than outdoor cultivation. This is made possible by a unique, mobile aeroponic system in which a robot precisely delivers water and nutrients directly to the roots while continuously repositioning them to give each lettuce head the space it needs to thrive.

As the technology has evolved, the requirements for stability, weight, and media feed‑throughs for the energy supply to the spraying robot have increased. Greenhouse floors are uneven, and the chain carrying the media is constantly exposed to water. With cables sometimes exceeding 50 meters in length, weight also plays a critical role. The customer required a preassembled chain that included all media feed‑throughs, along with a guaranteed service life of 1.5 million cycles.

Today, igus® e-chains® are used to efficiently allow the robots to supply the plants with nutrients and water. The first order was received by telephone for an e-chain® of 24 meters of length.

e‑chains® guide and protect the cables that supply energy, data, and control signals, while remaining in constant motion. Following technical consultation and several follow‑up calls, igus® supplied an E2/000 Series e‑chain® with a steel trough, preconfigured as a readychain® system.

In the pilot greenhouse, igus® guaranteed the customer 2 million cycles and a 36-month warranty on all chainflex® cables. This guarantee is based on the detailed data collected from igus's own test laboratory, where more than 2 billion test strokes are performed annually on e‑chains® and chainflex® cables across 58 test stations. These rigorous tests ensure reliable performance over long service lives, even under high cycle counts, high speeds and accelerations, and challenging environmental conditions.

Since then, the first greenhouse for commercial cultivation has opened in France. igus® e‑chains® are also in use there on three spraying robots — one with a travel distance of 54 meters and two with travel distances of 25 meters.