Durable cables for energy chains

 

Durable cables for energy chains

Why does a plastics company manufacture cables?

 

When igus launched the first plastic energy chain in 1971, it explained how a plastics company like that could develop durable cables for energy chains. New energy supply concepts were well received by customers and many wanted to convert their systems.

Advantages of plastic chains?

To understand the advantages of plastic chains, it is probably best to describe the disadvantages of the other systems:

Steel energy chains

Steel chains are typically heavy compared to plastic e-chains, which take up comparable amounts of space to install. The result is higher process energy, which translates into higher energy consumption. In comparison to plastic plug-in e-chains, steel chains have a much larger bolted structure, which makes assembly a great deal more difficult. Aside from their higher cost, steel chains are not corrosion-resistant, and they are less durable than comparable plastic chains.

Cable drums

Some types of cables (buses, motors, or air, for instance) require special designs in order to be used with cable drums. Cable drums can guide only one cable at one time. Lengths and winding speeds are severely limited. Because of this, manufacturing costs are very high and flexibility is low. However, the main disadvantage is the signal transmission from rotating to linear movement via a slip ring, which requires lots of maintenance.

Festooning

The cables in festooning systems hang in an arc up to 2m, depending on the travel distance. This reduces free height in places like halls, and also makes them susceptible to wind in outdoor environments (such as cranes in ports).
Festooning cables are 130-150m long, whereas e-chain cables are 55-60m long. The cable and copper costs are therefore several times higher than those of an e-chain.

Busbar systems

Unlike an e-chain, the busbar cannot transmit pneumatics or fluids. The transmission of data/bus signals is also more intensive than with an e-chain. Conductor rails are also maintenance-intensive because the carbon brushes on the collectors must be replaced regularly..

e-chain system

So the advantages of this new plastic chain system were obvious:

• Easy to clean, hardly any abrasion
• Quiet, lubrication-free, and easy to install
• Long travels
• Energy, data, FOCs, oil, and air guided in a single system
• Cable-friendly thanks to smooth contours
• Lightweight, modular, strong, quiet, easy to open

The plastic chain as an all-rounder?

This solved all the problems that had arisen so far, and customers could run their applications without any further problems. You might expect something like "... and they lived happily ever after."

As it turned out, it wasn't quite that easy. After the cables had been operating for a while, another issue occurred. Although the energy chains did not fail - and Igus had already promised that they wouldn't - the flexible cables available at the time did. Cable failures often caused machines or systems to go down because they caused damage such as corkscrews, broken jackets, and broken cores. Customers began to move away from the e-chain, which at the time was still brand new. The igus team was faced with a new challenge: making durable cables for energy chains.

The birth of the chainflex® cable

It took a lot of development, experimentation, and testing. A detailed assessment of what properties were necessary for these cables to ensure a long service life was done. Since 1988, when the chainflex cable wound in bundles, the CF1, was introduced, igus' cable product portfolio has grown. Intensive testing and close collaboration with our customers enable us to expand various cable series continuously. Igus currently offers over 1,354 types of cables specifically for e-chain applications. We offer up to seven different mechanical control cable designs from stock to provide almost any moving application in an e-chain with the optimal cable.

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CF1, the first chainflex® cable

Did that solve all the problems? It did at the time, but chains and customers continued to evolve. So we, too, continue to evolvie and adapt to new, demanding requirements (such as cleanrooms or very small bend radii).