Equipment Refurbishment: Key Considerations for Energy Chain Replacement

By Shizu Yamaguchi, edited by Jared Worth

As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

But if it is broken, igus may be able to help you out.

In this article, we will discuss equipment refurbishment in the context of energy chains, with a quick nod to automation solutions. A number of these ideas are relevant to other types of machinery, but for a more general discussion on equipment refurbishment, we would recommend: https://www.conger.com/equipment-refurbishment/.

To begin, what is equipment refurbishment, exactly?

“Equipment refurbishment is reassembling and replacing components and parts to restore them to their original manufacturer’s working condition” (Conger, 2024).

There are a few reasons why people would look to refurbish their equipment. Saving money, especially in the current economic climate, is a prominent reason to refurbish rather than buy new. To do so is to gain valuable days, weeks, months, and years of service life for a fraction of the cost to replace worn, missing, or damaged parts.

Another reason to refurbish equipment is the reduction of downtime. Due to issues in supply and demand, buying a new piece of equipment can take longer than simply refurbishing. Issues surrounding purchasing used equipment can be negated and lastly, no new training needs to occur on refurbished equipment, in contrast to new or used equipment (Conger, 2024).

If you are looking to refurbish your equipment that contains energy chains, here’s how igus can assist:

1. A variety of energy chains and cables guaranteed to work together for the longest possible service life
2. Complete harnessing
3. A great shipping program to Canada
4. Upgrades like real time sensors to better protect you from unscheduled downtime
5. Expert installation assistance or audits to identify systems that may need work

1. A variety of chains and chain parts

We sell over fifteen different series of energy chain systems, in addition to small, medium, and large sizes. (We are proud to declare that we stock over 20 million parts at our warehouse in Rhode Island). You can use our shop filters to filter through what kind of chain you are looking to replace or repair. In addition, we are available via live chat (with real, live & trained technical experts) at www.igus.ca and by phone at 1-800-965-2496

We also offer chainflex® flexible cables. These include power, control, fibre, data and measuring cables that have been tested and proven to work inside our energy chains. With these cables, we are able to provide an up-to 4-year guarantee that is unique in our industry.

If you’d like to know the predicted service life of a chain you’re looking to purchase, we have an online configurator that has been developed by igus and is powered by data gathered from decades of testing at our 41,000-square-foot test facility in Cologne. Do not hesitate to reach out to us by live chat or phone if you have any questions about how to use the tool.

Configurator: https://echain-expert.igus.tools/home?csid=n22vx5yypskdztjucj3w0mdo&server=1&l=en&c=CA

2. Complete harnessing

We also sell complete energy supply systems, termed readychain®.  These come in four options, from simple, with raw cables in them, to complex, where we perform other value-added services like metal work and offer special transport systems to make installation easier. When replacing your damaged or worn-out energy chain, it makes sense to review and replace old cables, allowing you to invest now for additional years of service life.

• e-chain with unharnessed cables
• e-chain with cable assemblies
• e-chain with assemblies and mounting
• e-chain with assemblies and mounting, transport system included

There are many benefits of receiving your energy chains pre-assembled. Harnessing time can be reduced by up to 95% and correspondingly, decreased downtimes can be achieved via plug & play installation. Floor space can be reduced, and storage costs can be eliminated.

Lastly, for the benefit of purchasers, there is no need to get into the minutiae of part numbers for every cable, connector, and chain with readychain. Our readychain systems are ordered on a single PO and referred to with a single part number, making reordering simple and reducing processing time and costs.

3. A great shipping program to Canada

We have a special low-cost international shipping program from the US to CA. This program allows you to pay only domestic shipping rates from a Montreal hub to your destination in Canada. No duties, handling or international brokerage fees are required.

Here are our delivery times, with items shipped as early as 24h:

• 2 days to Ontario and Quebec
• 2-4 days to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Maritimes
• 4-5 days to Alberta, BC and Newfoundland
• *Shipping to all Territories dependent upon location

For more information, visit our shipping and delivery page: Shipping and Delivery Service | igus®

4. Upgrades to your chain

We can provide upgrades to your equipment by changing your energy chain to a newer series, such as the E4.Q for the older E4.

We released the E4.Q last year. This new series is built with crossbars that can easily be removed and replaced with your fingers and does not require finagling with a screwdriver. The E4.Q chain is the same price as the older E4 model of energy chains. See our TikTok video for a demonstration: igus Canada (@iguscanada) | TikTok.

We can also make your system smart by incorporating our sensor technology. Adding this feature will decrease your downtime and provide you with more transparency on your equipment.  

Our line of smart plastics can add the ability to monitor things like wear, extreme forces, and breaks in chains with our i.Cee and i.Sense technology.

If you would like a recommendation or would like to explore your options, you are welcome to get in touch with us.

5. Expert installation assistance and problem-solving

Avoiding improper installation of cable carriers, cables and troughs is key to keeping your equipment running. Over the years things shift, wear, crack, and change in length. While igus has many installation videos and documents to share, in some cases, a maintenance manager may receive a box of parts and not know how to put everything together properly. Training may be required to demonstrate how to properly install the pieces to the right tolerances and clearances.

Receiving guidance from experts in these domains could be the difference between equipment that breaks down and creates unexpected downtime and equipment that runs smoothly with maximized uptime.

This is where Orange Services from igus comes in. Orange Services is a business unit consisting of igus experts who lend their expertise to four different areas of need:

1. Installation: Our experts can assist with replacing cable carrier systems that are nearing end of life, as well as assist with repairing your machine properly.
2. Inspection: To complete your job as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, our experts can prepare you with a complete list of materials. Startup inspection can be done to ensure your new e-chain is running as planned. Any problems or breakdowns can be assessed and resolved.
3. Engineering: On-site modernization studies can be done to help upgrade your technology or invent a new solution to your design challenges.
4. Training: We can teach production teams on how to put our parts together, in addition to training 3^rd party contractors on how to assemble and work with e-chain parts correctly.

Customers can select any combination of the above services depending on their individual needs.

A nod to automation solutions:

Thus far, we have discussed refurbishing equipment in the context of cable carriers. Before bidding you adieu, we’d like to mention that we also have the ability to aid in your automation projects. We offer products such as gantries and robotic arms, available on our RBTX online shop. There, you can find inexpensive automation solutions from a variety of sellers, including igus. Ninety-five percent of our LCA solutions available on RBTX are under $18K CAD! Our LCA team is excited to join you in your efforts to find low-cost solutions to applications you want to automate. They are happy to join you in-person or online to review what we can do for you, and show you it will work in our test labs.  

Thank you for reading about the different ways igus can assist with your equipment refurbishment. We invite you to visit us online at www.igus.ca  where you can contact us via our live chat.  Alternatively, give us a shout at 1-800-965-2496. We look forward to hearing from you!

Reference

Conger. (2024, April 30). Equipment Refurbishment vs. Reconditioning [Differences, Benefits, Costs]. https://www.conger.com/equipment-refurbishment/