E-mobility has not yet experienced a major breakthrough. One of the reasons for this is that the charging infrastructure is still in its infancy. For many drivers, the charging options are not sufficient. Easelink wants to change that. The company from Graz has developed "Matrix Charging", a charging system consisting of two components. A charging pad is installed in the parking lot and connected to the power grid. A connector is located on the underside of the electric car, which is lowered onto the pad when the car is parked. Power transmission starts automatically without the driver having to connect a cable - similar to inductive charging, but with up to ten times the charging power and 99 percent transmission efficiency.

During development, designers have to slowly approach a component ready for series production over several prototypes. If costs and time get out of hand during this phase, prototype construction can become a stumbling block. This is why Easelink relies on the 3D printing service from Igus for the production of components.

Configure online, ready to ship in 24 hours
The Igus 3D printing service includes an online configurator with which a gear can be designed in just a few seconds. All the designer has to do is select the tooth module and specify the number of teeth and the torque transmission. The configurator creates a 3D model of the gear, the basis for 3D printing. Hundreds of variants of simple gears and double gears can be produced without the need for computer-aided design (CAD) software.

Industrial printers produce the gears using selective laser sintering. They are ready for dispatch in just 24 hours to three days. "High flexibility and fast delivery times are crucial when building prototypes," says Easelink founder Hermann Stockinger. "It is precisely these characteristics that we value about Igus' ability to quickly select and print gear wheels in a wide range of variants using the online configurator."

Igus uses Iglidur I6 as the printing material. This high-performance plastic can withstand ambient temperatures of minus 40 to plus 80 degrees Celsius, is pressure-resistant up to 44 MPa and has high abrasion resistance. Igus engineers have proven in laboratory tests that it is significantly more robust than the classic plastic polyoxymetylene (POM). Gear wheels were run at twelve revolutions per minute and loaded with five Newton meters. The result: the 3D-printed gear wheel made from Iglidur I6 was still fully functional even after one million cycles, with hardly any measurable wear. A milled gear wheel made of POM was different. It was worn after 321,000 cycles and broken after 621,000. as