Igus guarantees a million movements at a very competitive price.
Value for money is a constant concern in all sectors.
There are few components that offer a guaranteed minimum life while having an attractive price. And even more rare when it comes to cables intended for applications in constant motion.
Getting the right components for a machine, but without spending fortunes? A problem that policy makers often find themselves confronted with.
Components must often be very accurate for an application and must be reliable and competitively priced internationally. It is this equation that the research and development department of the company igus has been working to solve for more than 20 years, to the greatest benefit of its customers. Igus has broadened its range of cables, based on more than two billion annual test cycles in its own laboratory with an area of ??1,750m².
Its latest innovation is the chainflex M cable range dedicated to applications in motion in cable chains. One of the main objectives was to develop a structure and materials that ensure good performance on moving cables while offering a significant reduction in costs. The result ? A range of economical cables for which the manufacturer offers a guarantee of one million cycles.
Materials development The selection of materials, especially those used for shielding and outer sheaths, is one of the major concerns in the development of cables for cable chains. The test methods used for IEC, VDE and UL approvals are essentially concerned with the flexural behavior and chemical resistance of the plastics in the cables but not with the particular requirements of a constantly moving cable chain.
Igus has set itself the task of developing polymers which offer clear advantages in terms of movement in relation to the materials generally used. Long life and cost optimization were the main objectives of the development work. This has resulted in the development of the iguPUR material now used for the chainflex M line.
Tested over a period of three years and continuously optimized, this material has an extremely high resistance to mechanical stresses, oils and chemicals as well as bending and abrasion, particularly important for cable chains. The cost advantage of the new cable range lies not only in the material but also in the manufacturing process.
300 types of cables on stock The results of improvements in materials and manufacturing resulted in the creation of a new range of cables for the automation market. It extends from shielded and unshielded control cables to field bus cables such as Profibus and even more demanding Ethernet cables in technical terms. This line also includes servo motors and power cables for the most common motors as well as encoder cables for measurement system suppliers. But the structure and the development of a new material can not guarantee a good cable for a cable chain.
For this reason, the cable is subjected to extensive testing in its laboratory. In addition to the material aging tests typical for IEC and UL approvals, long abrasion tests were carried out on polymer chains as well as bending tests in a climatic chamber. In addition, bending wear tests are performed on radii of curvature up to 25% lower than those specified in the catalog. Even after three million movements (three times the expected lifetime), neither cables nor polymers were damaged.
With UL / CSA approval The chainflex M cable range has been designed and developed specifically for applications in medium loaded cable chains and is now available in more than 300 combinations of cables and sections. These are available on stock, with no cutting fee or minimum order and at a price up to 30% lower than traditional cables. The chainflex M cables are newly certified UL / CSA. A novelty in this range of prices and performance, which testifies to the quality of the chainflex M range.
Value for money is a constant concern in all sectors.
There are few components that offer a guaranteed minimum life while having an attractive price. And even more rare when it comes to cables intended for applications in constant motion.
Getting the right components for a machine, but without spending fortunes? A problem that policy makers often find themselves confronted with.
Components must often be very accurate for an application and must be reliable and competitively priced internationally. It is this equation that the research and development department of the company igus has been working to solve for more than 20 years, to the greatest benefit of its customers. Igus has broadened its range of cables, based on more than two billion annual test cycles in its own laboratory with an area of ??1,750m².
Its latest innovation is the chainflex M cable range dedicated to applications in motion in cable chains. One of the main objectives was to develop a structure and materials that ensure good performance on moving cables while offering a significant reduction in costs. The result ? A range of economical cables for which the manufacturer offers a guarantee of one million cycles.
Materials development The selection of materials, especially those used for shielding and outer sheaths, is one of the major concerns in the development of cables for cable chains. The test methods used for IEC, VDE and UL approvals are essentially concerned with the flexural behavior and chemical resistance of the plastics in the cables but not with the particular requirements of a constantly moving cable chain.
Igus has set itself the task of developing polymers which offer clear advantages in terms of movement in relation to the materials generally used. Long life and cost optimization were the main objectives of the development work. This has resulted in the development of the iguPUR material now used for the chainflex M line.
Tested over a period of three years and continuously optimized, this material has an extremely high resistance to mechanical stresses, oils and chemicals as well as bending and abrasion, particularly important for cable chains. The cost advantage of the new cable range lies not only in the material but also in the manufacturing process.
300 types of cables on stock The results of improvements in materials and manufacturing resulted in the creation of a new range of cables for the automation market. It extends from shielded and unshielded control cables to field bus cables such as Profibus and even more demanding Ethernet cables in technical terms. This line also includes servo motors and power cables for the most common motors as well as encoder cables for measurement system suppliers. But the structure and the development of a new material can not guarantee a good cable for a cable chain.
For this reason, the cable is subjected to extensive testing in its laboratory. In addition to the material aging tests typical for IEC and UL approvals, long abrasion tests were carried out on polymer chains as well as bending tests in a climatic chamber. In addition, bending wear tests are performed on radii of curvature up to 25% lower than those specified in the catalog. Even after three million movements (three times the expected lifetime), neither cables nor polymers were damaged.
With UL / CSA approval The chainflex M cable range has been designed and developed specifically for applications in medium loaded cable chains and is now available in more than 300 combinations of cables and sections. These are available on stock, with no cutting fee or minimum order and at a price up to 30% lower than traditional cables. The chainflex M cables are newly certified UL / CSA. A novelty in this range of prices and performance, which testifies to the quality of the chainflex M range.