480 applicants compete for the manus award

The international competition offers prizes of up to $3,000 for unique polymer plain bearing projects

By Mark McGwin

7 March 2023 – Small, corrosion-resistant, and made of plastic: the plain bearing. An unimposing machine element, it is rarely in the limelight, so a joint initiative started by igus, the motion plastics specialist, awards up to $3,000 to the most exciting and creative plain bearing projects every two years. This year, 480 entries were received from 36 countries.

A miniature lawnmower the size of a puppy, a fully automated robotic miniature kitchen, a foldable dog car step, and a 24/7 beer bottling plant are just four of the 480 applications for the 11th manus competition.

“We received a colorful variety of entries again this year from 36 countries around the world,” says Tobias Vogel, CEO of Plain Bearings and Linear Technology at igus GmbH and a member of the manus award panel of judges. “The competition shows us how wide the range of applications for plain bearings can be and what problems their particular specifications solve.”

From highly hygienic areas in medical technology to dirty, heavy-duty applications – there are a lot of different requirements for the plastic bearing. The panel of judges, consisting of research, business, and press experts, will now evaluate the entries. The winners will be selected based on five categories – idea, plain bearing function, savings, effect, and differentiation. The final placing decision will be reached at a judge panel meeting in mid-March.

Awards ceremony at the Hannover Messe

Due to COVID, the last manus award in 2021 was presented as a digital live event to which the international specialist press and all manus award participants were invited.

“We look forward to presenting the trophies again in 2023 as part of the Hannover Messe at the igus tradeshow booth on April 19 and celebrating the 11th manus award with the winners,” says Vogel.

Find out more about the winners of the last manus award at: https://www.igus.ca/info/manus-award-2023