Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

How Igus moving plastic components are enabling medtech innovation

November 1, 2017 By Chris Newmarker

Advanced plastic components maker Igus sees more medical sector opportunities. Here’s how its e-chains, bearings and linear systems are enabling innovation. 

Igus headquarters

Igus’s headquarters and manufacturing plant in Cologne, Germany. [Image courtesy of Grimshaw Architects]

Igus – maker of advanced plastic components including e-chain cable carriers, bearings and linear systems – has its main medical customers in Europe. But that could soon change.

The company plans to sell to more medical customers in the U.S., Harald Nehring, Igus’s VP and head of global industry management, recently told Medical Design & Outsourcing.

“At the moment, we have one industry manager on medical technology, and we are looking for more  like that so we extend the range. We want to offer the special medical technology consulting worldwide [and] more in-depth,” Nehring said. (Igus hosted trade press on a visit in October to its Cologne, Germany headquarters and manufacturing facility – as well as side trips to highlight innovative uses of its products.)

When it comes to Igus’s e-chains, they can provide a customized solution for any moving piece of medical equipment (or medical device manufacturing equipment) attached to multiple cables. Think MRIs, X-ray systems and more. They reduce downtime because they increase the service life of cables and hoses, can be customized for various types of motions and installations, and are cleanroom suitable.

“Our e-chain systems you can find in every device where a big linear or rotary movement is needed… We have a big advantage because we are non-magnetic with all materials, compared to metal competitor products, which in in MRI equipment is a big advantage,” said Nehring, who added the caveat that the company so far not offers systems that come into contact with blood or tissue below the epidermis in the long term directly, e.g. implants.

Igus bearings and linear systems also offer advantages because they have smooth movement and are durable and self-lubricating – enabling easy-to-adjust hospital beads, surgery tables and more.  They’re resistant to acid, alkaline and alcohol cleaning agents. They’re also easy to clean and can be produced with FDA and E.U. compatible materials.

Both Igus e-chains and bearings are also finding uses in 3D printers, with potential opportunities in medical device manufacturing.

Here are three ways Igus components are already enabling innovation in the medical sector:

Next>>


Founding editor Paul Dvorak contributed to this report. 

You may also like:

  • Disruptive innovation contract manufacturers
    7 disruptive innovations from medical device suppliers
Pages: 1 2 3 4

About The Author

Chris Newmarker

Chris Newmarker is the executive editor of WTWH Media life science's news websites and publications including MassDevice, Medical Design & Outsourcing and more. A professional journalist of 18 years, he is a veteran of UBM (now Informa) and The Associated Press whose career has taken him from Ohio to Virginia, New Jersey and, most recently, Minnesota. He’s covered a wide variety of subjects, but his focus over the past decade has been business and technology. He holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science from Ohio State University. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email at cnewmarker@wtwhmedia.com.

Related Articles Read More >

July 2025 edition: The Surgical Robotics issue, featuring Capstan Medical, J&J and Zimmer Biomet
A photo of Cadence CFO Pat McCarty.
Cadence hires new CFO
This is a rendering of the new manufacturing facility that Quasar Medical plans in Thailand.
Quasar Medical breaks ground on new Thailand manufacturing center
This is the logo of Tecomet.
Tecomet earns EU MDR certification
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe