Save installation space and increase service life with high-end TPE cables

By Nils Krutzmann

Are you familiar with this phenomenon: The summer vacation is coming to an end and you hastily arrange your things at the hotel for the return journey. In the bustling hotel room, you try to pack your suitcase as neatly as possible, but you notice that there is no longer enough space. Strange – everything was fine when packing for the outbound journey for the first time. Has the available space shrunk?

Lack of space in mechanical engineering

There is a similar phenomenon in mechanical and plant engineering: the available space is becoming ever smaller. Machines must become more compact and at the same time meet higher requirements, including the cables used. Besides the drive cables with the usual pairs for temperature sensors and/or brake, additional cables are required for bus or measuring systems. And due to the increasingly compact designs of the machines, the mechanical requirements for all cables in the moving cable carrier are increasing.

But these machines and systems are carefully planned and not thrown together frantically like on vacation. The designer knows that only a small amount of space is available for the cable carrier to be filled, and the supplied cables must act accordingly. A typical PUR servo cable, (4G1.5 + (2×1.5)C)C, has an outer diameter of between 11.5mm and 13mm, for example. The usual bending factors of 10xd to 15xd result in a minimum bend radius of 115mm in the best case and a minimum bend radius of 195mm in the worst case. The installation space of the machine must be correspondingly small or large.

Achieve the smallest bend radii with chainflex®

But what if there is not enough space, or the requirements for movements are very high? This is exactly where igus introduces the high-end TPE cables. In addition to the PVC and PUR outer jacket materials matched to the cable carrier, igus offers the ideal alternative with the CF29.D servo cable series and the CF11.D measuring system cable series. These cables, equipped with a halogen-free TPE outer jacket and specially matched stranding and shielding concept, offer a bending factor of only 6.8xd. And so, for example, with a servo cable with the combination (4G1.5 + (2×1.5)C)C and with an outer diameter of 13mm, the bend radius of 115mm or 195mm from the previous example can be reduced to 85mm.

This results in a space saving of 220mm or 230% in the machine when using the CF29.D compared to the PUR servo cables commonly available on the market. This is because the space required is twice the radius of the cable carrier plus the corresponding chain height.

High-end cables for small installation spaces

In the simplest case, you simply buy a larger suitcase for your next trip to solve the space problem. In mechanical and plant engineering, this is obviously not an alternative, as the trend towards more compact machines will continue. The high-end TPE cables from chainflex®, on the other hand, are an alternative to solving the recurring space problem in drive technology. Achieve the smallest bend radii with maximum, guaranteed service life without hassle.

You can calculate and compare the service life for your individual application here. You can also contact us directly, and we’ll be happy to help you find the right cable. For further information, check out our website.