Design Award 2021 judges praise ‘innovative’ igus design

A new plug-in connector by motion plastic experts igus has won an ‘Excellent Product Design’ award in the prestigious German Design Awards 2021.

The new igus Module Connect Adapter, praised by judges for its innovation, has been designed to suit limited spaces where a large number of plugged-in cables, such as fibre, optic,
electric and encoder cables, need to be connected together. 

Justin Leonard, the e-chain Director at igus UK, whose UK headquarters are in Northampton, said: “Instead of having to connect each cable individually, which takes time and can too easily go wrong, this new design from igus enables a large number of plugged-in cables to come
together safely and quickly, even when in a tight space.

“Because the entire energy chain system can be easily plugged in, the installation time is reduced from several hours to just minutes. Each Module Connect Adapter is self-coded, which eliminates any disruption from a faulty plug. It is also easy to maintain and service.”


When ordering one of these adapters, igus customers can select from four HARTING Han-Modular rectangular connectors, which can then be individually connected to each other.

Depending on the chain series, width, and number of connect modules, igus manufactures each of its Module Adapters individually, using 3D printing technology.

Once manufactured each adapter is then attached
to the energy chain via a ‘snap-in’ mechanism.

Customers can choose from a variety of mounting options.

While the Module Connect Adapter won an Excellent Product Design award in the German Design Awards 2021, the igus E4Q energy chain series was also praised, winning a top German Design Award for its "pioneering" design.

You can find out more about the Module Connect Adapter here.