Chainflex
Chainflex® Continuous-flex cables from
®
for use in Energy Chain Systems®...
...cables...
www.chainflex.com
ECS-B9
®
Chainflex lasts ... in dyn
Chainflex® Continuous-Flex Cables are designed, tested, and
guaranteed to keep your application up and running
Chainflex® is unique
Don Nester
Chainflex® Product Manager
Phone: 800-521-2747
Email [email protected]
igus® has been developing Energy Chain Systems® to house and protect
moving cables and hoses for more than 30 years. As an expert in the cable
carrier industry, igus® understands why customers’ flexible energy supply
systems would fail. igus® quickly realized that widespread growth of automated
technology had resulted in increasing loads, which guided cables couldn’t
support. The cables would fail and cause costly system downtime, or halt
production entirely.
Most standard cables aren’t designed with mechanical flex life in mind.
igus® embarked on the development of its own continuous-flexing line of
cables, designed specifically for use in Energy Chain Systems®, introducing
Chainflex® in 1989. Chainflex® cables withstand the stress of tight bending
radii in moving applications, and deliver longer life at low cost. The Chainflex®
line has expanded to include more than 950 cable sizes and types.
Proven time and time again
igus® customers rely on their flexible energy supply systems to function properly.
The company has dedicated significant resources into its own 5,700 square
foot test laboratory. Chainflex® cables are tested in all types of conditions,
including in extreme temperatures, different speed and length profiles,
mechanical deformation and exposure to oil, chemicals, and debris. The data
revealed by this testing not only provides detailed information on service life
and durability, but also serves as a basis for new product development.
To ensure the installation of energy supply systems that are guaranteed to
perform as expected, igus® also offers customers ReadyChain® pre-assembled
Energy Chain Systems®, harnessed with Chainflex® cables, connectors,
brackets, and other accessories. igus® provides a complete system guarantee
on all ReadyChain® solutions. The combination of comprehensive testing and
application success stories gives igus® the confidence to offer this guarantee.
2
namic applications ...
7 Guidelines for Continuous Flex cables
igus® performs over 2 billion test cycles in our 5,700 sq. ft. test lab. The 7 guidelines Guidelines for ContinuousFlex Cables are proven and validated based on the testing we perform.
2. Optimized conductor stranding
1. Strain-relieving
center element
4. Cabled with short pitch length
3. High-quality conductor insulation
5. Pressure extruded inner jacket
6. Shielding with optimized braid angle
7. Abrasion-resistant
pressure extruded jacket
3
950 Chainflex types ... ®
igus® cable range for all movements and electrical requirements
Control cables
• Bending radii to 4 x d
• Shielded or unshielded
• Jacket materials: PVC, PUR, TPE
Data cables
• For travels up to 1,312 ft.
• Optimized shields with high coverage
• Jacket materials: PVC, PUR, TPE
Bus cable
• Profibus, Profinet, CAN-Bus, Ethernet, CAT6, USB…
• Jacket materials: PVC, PUR, TPE
• cRUus UL compliance
Fiber optical cables
• Bending radii up to 5 x d
• Plastic and glass fibers
• Jacket materials: PUR, TPE
Measuring system cables
• For high meachnical demands
• Cable types for 20 different drive manufacturers
• Jacket materials: PVC, PUR, TPE
Servo cables
• Inner-jacket versions for high mechanical demands
• Jacket materials: PVC, PUR
Motor cables
• Shielded and unshielded
• For extreme applications
• Jacket materials: PVC, TPE
Torsion-resistant cables
• 3 million cycles at ±180°/3 ft length
• cRUus UL compliance
• Jacket materials: PUR, TPE
Special cables
• Cables with high tensile strength
• With special approvals for the rail sector
• Jacket materials: PUR, TPE
4
Available from stock...
igus® delivery service
Orders ship in 24 to 48 hours
• From stock
• No minimum order value
• No minimum order quantity
• No cutting costs
• Invoices and confirmations by post, fax,
or email
• Regional support within 48 hours
anywhere in North America
75% of all cables can be
delivered from stock with UL
5
Your Chainflex from 2,5
®
Process-oriented solutions
Online selection and configurations
Find, configure and order Chainflex® cables easily at www.chainflex.com
Use the product finder to find
all relevant Chainflex® cables
specifically for your application.
igus.com/quickcable
Calculate the service life of your
Chainflex® cable with the
QuickLife service life predictor.
igus.com/cf-lifetime
6
Chainflex® online shop: Select
and order highly flexible cables
for energy supply systems
directly online.
www.igus.com
00 feet in 6-8 weeks...
We will find the right cable for your application
Custom cable with the Chainflex® Design
Create the required cable for your Energy Chain® with the Chainflex® custom cable ... from 2,500 ft ...
delivered in 6 to 8 weeks!
igus® can now produce and deliver an almost endless variety of individual special cables for customers within
short lead times and in tested igus® quality. igus® combines the tested Chainflex® quality with the individual
requirements for customers in our 5,700 sq. ft. igus® test lab.
With igus® custom cables you can specify
• the cable type
• the structure
• the shield
• the jacket material
• the color
• and the individual printing.
We will be glad to visit you for a personal discussion and advise you about your customized application.
7
igus development and
®
5,700 sq. ft. test lab... more than 700 cable tests...
2 billion test cycles... Reliability through practical experience...
Quality Assurance: Continuous batch testing
to ensure the quality level
8
Special design for special solutions
test lab...
Test for combined movements: Simulation of
complex movements in robotic applications
Media tests: Test of durability of chemical /oil
exposure in motion
Rotation tests: Ambitious chain applications
with small radii
Frost test of cables and Energy Chains® at -40°F
9
igus development and
®
Linear movements in short and long travels
Servo cable testing
• Continuous batch test
• Direct comparison with
competitors
• Long-term tests
• Travels up to 40 feet in the interior, up to
394 feet in the outdoor travel test
• Variable speed and acceleration
• Continuous monitoring
Constant load test
in the smallest radii
CFLG-2LB-50/125 tested with
35.2 million cycles at 4.35 x d
CF98-05-04 in a radius of 0.7”
69.3 million cycles
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test lab...
Torsional movements
Torsion cables in
standardized tests
• Uniform setup for objective
assessment
• ± 180°/3 feet
• 10 test set-ups at the same time
• Up to 50 test cables
• Shield testing and optimization
CFROBOT5.501
27 million ± 180°/3 feet length
Serial test of
TwisterBand solutions
CF9-03-04-INI
4 cables with > 1.2 million cycles with 3,000°
11
igus development and
®
Reliability in your application
Special chain set-ups
• Service life statements for special chain movements
• Reliability for the series
• Fault analysis of existing designs
• Optimization of the cable routing
Torsional movements
without chain guide
• Torsion in machine feed-throughs
• Combined motions
• Combination of various media
• Reliability through optimization with plain bearing
guides
High-speed application
for millions of cycles
• Abrasion tests
• Optimization of braid designs
• Service life guarantees
• Determine a maintenance schedule
12
test lab...
Elaborate analysis and documentation
Precise and detailed
analysis of the cable parts
• All components of a cable are individually taken
apart and assessed
• Documentation provided
• Measuring of elements
• Analysis of fault patterns
• Wire strength assessment
Automatic measuring
• Permanent measuring
• Automatic
• Reliably
Roller test stand with variable loads
Tensile test up to 1,124 lbs
13
Cable assembly ... harn
Capacity for 600,000 assembled cables a year...
...more than 18,000 test programs...1,800 test adapters...
Allen Bradley
B&R
Baumüller
Beckhoff
Berger Lahr
Control Techniques
Danaher Motion
ELAU
Fagor
ReadyCable®
igus® offers more than 2,240 harnessed
cables for drive systems according to 20
different manufacturers. Professionally
manufactured, 100% tested.
• Servo, Power and Signal-/encoder cables
• No cutting costs, no minimum order
quantity, no costs for packaging
• Cable length according to customer
requirements
• Smallest bending radii from 7.5 x d
• Reduce storage cost and increase
cashflow
igus.com/readycable
Fanuc
Heidenhain
Jetter
Lenze
LTi DRiVES
NUM
Omron
Rexroth
SEW
Siemens
Stöber
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QuickPin 2.0
connector-cable configurator
Configure your cable online in only
three minutes from over 950 Chainflex® types
and 3,500 connector components, order
immediately.
igus.com/quickpin2
nessed Energy Chains ...
®
Assembled energy supply systems,
connectors and cables from igus® all from a single source
ReadyChain®
Ready-to-fit assembled systems
700 systems per week in 11 ReadyChain® assembly
facilities around the world
• Reduces your storage costs
• Cut your throughput times from days to hours
• Respond flexibly to order variations
• Utilize igus® manufacturing capacities and our
know-how in cable assembly
• Reduce the number of suppliers (one order, one invoice, one delivery)
• One partner for minimal machine downtimes
• All ReadyChain® components are subject to an
extensive quality control and function testing
www.readychain.com
ReadyChain®
“Basic”
ReadyChain®
“Standard”
ReadyChain®
“Premium”
15
North American Locations
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
ALBERTA
MANITOBA
QUEBEC
SASKATCHEWAN
ONTARIO
WA
ND
MT
ë
MN
é
SD
WY
IA
NE
NV
IL
UT
KS
CO
CA
OK
NM
NH
MA
CT RI
PA
IN
MO
MD
OH
WV
AL

DE
NC
SC
AR
ó
NJ
VA
KY
MS
TX
NY
MI
TN
AZ
VT
ë
Lake
Huron
MI
WI
OR
ID
ME
Lake
Superior
igus USA Headquarters
East Providence, RI
PHONE: (800) 521-2747
(401) 438-2200
FAX:
(401) 438-7270
GA
LA
FL
MEXICO
ë
North American District Offices

igus® CANADA
Concord, ONT
PHONE: (800) 965-2496
(905) 760-8448
FAX:
(905) 760-8688

igus® WISCONSIN
Sussex, WI
PHONE: (888) 803-7235
(262) 246-0682
FAX:
(262) 246-0689

igus® MEXICO
Toluca, MX
PHONE: (728) 284-3185
FAX:
(728) 284-3187

igus® OREGON
Portland, OR
PHONE: (888) 803-7237
(503) 282-1952
FAX:
(503) 282-5976
Visit www.igus.com for a complete list
of our regional offices.