World record with 670m! Longest travel with rol e-chain® system

• ​​​​​What was needed: Rollers e-chain® of type 5050RHD, chainflex® CFCRANE, smart plastic EC.P
• Requirements: long travel (670m), continuous loads, outdoor use, temperatures from -3.9° to 48.2°C, high degree of contamination
• Industry: power station, electricity industry
• Success for the customer: trouble-free operation since commissioning

To make this record-breaking application a success, the projects engineering team in Cologne and India recorded and planned the system on site, put together a complete system, sampled components in advance and carried out tests in its own laboratory in Cologne covering an area of 3,800 m².

The customer has had recurring problems with the power supply for years, which was realised using motor cable reels and ribbon cables on two bucket wheel excavators. This repeatedly resulted in production downtimes, which totalled up to 5 hours per week. These downtimes disrupted the smooth running of operations and therefore there was a desire for a longer service life and significantly improved downtimes.

The heavy-duty roller chain from the 5050RHD series is used for the 670 metre travel and has been specially developed for long travel distances and high levels of contamination. The maintenance-free roller design reduces the push/pull forces by up to 75% compared to standard energy chains. Wear is also reduced and a higher additional load is possible. 
The electrical cable used is the chainflex® cable from the CRCRANE series. This medium-voltage cable for voltages of up to 6/10KV has been specially developed for long travel distances on crane and conveyor systems, for example. 
The igus® smart plastic module iSense EC.P was planned for permanent monitoring of the system. The system includes an intelligent sensor system for monitoring the tensile/push forces, which can be used for an emergency shutdown in the event of increased forces. 
The energy chain system is operated in an enclosed guide trough with a roof, which was customised for the customer. This works reliably and permanently against dirt and weather influences.
The installation was organised directly by igus® India and carried out by a local, qualified service partner. The joint commissioning then took place after acceptance and approval of the energy chain system by one of the numerous igus® supervisors.
Since then, the system has been running smoothly and reliably. Mission accomplished.