igus and Becker are not really competing for the same purchase. igus sells a configurable catalogue system extremely well; Becker engineers a package for a specific cell. Which is right depends on whether your cells are standard.
What igus offers
The triflex R range is a modular multi-axis carrier built around a ball-and-socket joint with a defined bend radius, a built-in torsion stop and interior separation of the cores. The TRE series is the most widely used variant. igus publishes a dress pack configurator where you choose your robot by make and model, alongside an extensive CAD library, published delivery times and low minimum order quantities.
It is a very good catalogue business. The configurator, the documentation and the availability are genuinely ahead of what Becker publishes.
Where igus is ahead
- Self-service specification — you can configure and order without talking to anyone
- Published CAD and data — straight into your design package
- Breadth of robot coverage in a catalogue, including a wide cobot range
- A published cable guarantee — igus publishes a guarantee on its chainflex cable. Becker publishes no equivalent blanket guarantee.
That last point deserves a straight answer rather than silence. Becker does not publish a guarantee period. What Becker does instead is engineer to the application, test before shipping, and carry the documentation and spares list against each specific robot through DCDI. If a published guarantee is a procurement requirement for you, that is a real reason to choose igus.
Where Becker is ahead
Difficult cells
A configurator answers “which system fits this robot”. It does not answer “will this routing survive a C-frame rivet tool reaching around the part at this cycle time”. That is an engineering question, and it is what Becker does before anything is built — see routing rules.
Welding
Spot welding is the hardest duty a pack does: weld current, coolant, spatter, high shot count. Becker builds for it specifically and supplies the rest of the cell with it — tip dressing, coolant monitoring, integration. See spot welding.
Change-out time
The LHMS architecture carries a documented mean time to repair of seven minutes or less for material handling and fifteen minutes or less for carried spot welding.
Honest summary
For standard handling and assembly cells, and for buyers who want to specify for themselves from a catalogue, igus is a strong choice and we would not pretend otherwise. For weld cells, heavy tooling, awkward envelopes, and lines where downtime is expensive enough that a fifteen-minute change matters, the engineered route is the better buy.
Checked against igus’s published material, September 2026.
Request a quote or describe a cell that is giving you trouble.
