First Recyclable Plastic Bicycle Frame

Following the RCYL Bike, a bicycle made from 50 percent recycled fishing nets, igus GmbH is setting the next milestone for sustainable mobility: the motion plastics specialist has developed the first bicycle frame made from recyclable composite material for the German e-bike manufacturer Advanced Bikes . The frame is manufactured using the injection molding process. Decades of expertise in plastics processing and the experience gained with the RCYL bike have been incorporated into the development of both the frame and new bicycle components made from high-performance plastics.

Composite Material with 100% Recyclable Plastic

In order to drive forward the transformation to a circular economy, e-bike manufacturer Advanced Bikes is relying on Igus for its future frame production. Together, the companies have now developed a sustainable bicycle frame made from composite material, which is to be used in the new Reco Urban trekking e-bike. “Advanced‘s aim was to produce a frame made of a composite material with 100% recyclable plastic using the injection molding process,“ recalls Jan Philipp Hollmann, Head of Bike Components at Igus. “As we have already been developing and producing components such as plain bearings, rod ends, gears and guide rails for the bicycle industry for 30 years, we immediately accepted the challenge of supporting Advanced in the design of the bicycle frame and taking on the development, toolmaking and injection molding.“

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What Else Is New?

• Covestro and Alibaba Cloud present a joint solution to improve supply chain transparency for sustainable plastics. The digital, AI-driven platform provides information on the carbon footprint of the material and its origin. The first application examples in the consumer goods sector already exist. Read more
• APK AG has scaled its proprietary Newcycling technology for the recycling of post-consumer plastic waste. Flexible, multi-material packaging waste is the focus material. Read more

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Fast Manufacturing and High Production Capacities

A new powder-based 3D printing process is changing the way manufacturers in the automotive industry approach the production of plastic parts. SAF technology from Stratasys offers possibilities that were previously not feasible due to high tooling costs, lack of manufacturing capacity or supply chain constraints.

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Part 2: Not an Easy Legacy

When people think of plastics, they soon think of Dr. Richard Escales, who founded the magazine “Kunststoffe“, the German parent magazine of Plastics Insights, in 1910. However, it is easy to overlook the fact that his son Dr. Erich Escales had a much longer influence. We want to tell his story in a six-part series of articles. The second part of our series of articles is about Richard Escales and how his death shaped the future career of Erich Escales and “Kunststoffe”.

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