Energy chains
Container cranes in ports around the world will be even more powerful and fail-safe in the future. This is due to the fact that igus is launching P4HD.56.R – a new heavy-duty energy chain prepared for long travels, high speeds, heavy cable loads and Industry 4.0.
Robots have long been an integral part of many areas of industrial manufacturing – and their range of tasks continues to grow in the wake of digitalisation. Whether for welding, painting, soldering or palletising, industrial robots work dynamically. A flexible 3D energy chain such as the triflex R from igus makes it possible to guide robot cables safely. To detect potential chain breaks due to extreme loads in good time and to avoid unplanned machine breakdowns, igus is presenting i.Sense TR.B, the world’s first breakage monitoring system for 3D energy chains at automatica 2022.
Good news for users of the igus E4.1 energy chain series: newly developed roller chain links reduce required drive power by 37%. This allows customers to reduce their electricity costs in times of sharply rising energy prices.
Since 2019, igus has been using its chainge recycling programme to give old energy chains a new life. Now, the motion plastics specialist is taking things a step further. Recycling begins at assembly. To avoid industrial waste, igus is organising return delivery of worn-out energy chains – and returning them to the material cycle.
The plug-in energy chain system readychain speed from igus connects harnessed e-chain systems in seconds and without the use of tools. This helps reduce both throughput times in assembly and machine downtimes, and also brings planned maintenance work to a minimum. The ready-to-connect e-chain system thus saves 80% installation time. With the new readychain micro-speed, this is now also possible for very small applications and in particularly tight installation spaces.
Classic clamps provide strain relief for pneumatic hoses in energy chains. But if they are over tightened, the hoses can be crushed. This can lead to a loss of performance. The answer from igus: a new CFX series clamp with high holding force, which at the same time makes over-tightening impossible.
It undertakes work that is lethal for humans: the remote-controlled robot “Crawler” restores the inner walls of pipelines in power plants. An automation that needs to be regularly maintained in order to protect the power and data cables from the harsh environmental conditions. Here, the US manufacturer Remote Orbital Installations LLC relies on the collaboration with igus.
Smart monitoring of igus bus and data cables goes into the next round: the latest generation of i.Sense CF.D monitoring sensors checks the electrical condition of chainflex cables in e-chain systems – without contact and without intervention in the existing harnessing. This allows real-time monitoring without any extra cores and, in combination with the new i.Cee: plus II evaluation module, allows even more efficient predictive maintenance for protection against expensive system failures.
It is light, compact, and made entirely of plastic: the new PRM (Polymer Rotation Module) rotary energy supply system from igus. Specifically for tight rotational movements in cables and hoses, igus has now developed a system consisting of a polymer energy chain and a low-friction plastic guide trough. Users can increase the service life of their machines and systems with buying costs up to 73% less than those of a comparable steel guide trough. The new e-chain system expands the igus range of complete sets that can be ordered directly online.
Particle-free energy chains are required to guide cables and hoses safely in cleanrooms. igus developed the e-skin flat, a modular design, a cost-effective alternative to ribbon cables. In the Fraunhofer cleanroom test, the energy supply system has proved its freedom from particles in accordance with ISO Class 1 not only as a single-layer, but also as a three-layered ready-to-connect energy chain system.