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chainflex® Know-How
Because we give you up to 4 years guarantee on our cables
What advantages do our cables offer?
- 30 years of experience
- Four-year guarantee
- Tested in our own laboratory spread over an area of 3,800m², 125 test systems, over 800 ongoing tests
- The largest range with over 1,350 cable types for data, bus and hybrid systems, control system and drive
- Predictable and configurable service life
- Available from stock, from 1m length within 36h
- Cables for any type of motion: horizontal, vertical, torsion, high speed
- Freely available samples
- 50% time reduction when stripping due to unique CFRIP technology
- Optionally with intelligent tensile force monitoring from smart plastics for exceptionally heavy-duty cables
7 basic rules for a good cable
There are 7 key rules to ensure that cables are at their optimum. Ensuring that all of these rules or considerations are taken into account, the life time of the cables within your application should be considerable.
Sectional views through the igus® cable types
Structure of igus® control, data, servo and motor cable from high class in detail
Since the middle of the 1980s, the technical requirements of energy chain systems on the part of the machine and plant manufacturers have been steadily increasing. Travels have become longer, movements quicker and bend radii smaller. Core and jacket damage, jacket abrasion and corkscrews were the consequences for machine builders and end customers. igus® faced the challenges and together with the University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, developed cables that could withstand a high degree of mechanical stress.
After extensive tests in the igus® test lab, it became clear that the cables with cores wound in bundles, short pitch lengths, high tensile strength centre elements and gusset-filling extruded outer jackets exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, the product range comprises over 1,350 cables for different application areas. Since 2013, igus® has guaranteed a service life of up to 4 years or up to 10 million double strokes, depending on which occurs first.
Online tools for chainflex® cables
With the useful online tools, you can find products according to your individual requirements, configure custom cables and calculate the service life.
chainflex® cables Wiki
The chainflex cable expertise pooled together - Find out more about the important technical and mechanical specifications of cables. We will also show you the special features of cables for motion and how to find the ideal cable solution for your application.
chainflex® safety and quality
The largest test lab for moving cables worldwide
The chainflex cables are tested on a floor area of 3,800m² and with two billion test cycles per year. Thanks to these extensive tests, reliability is guaranteed!
chainflex approvals and standards
We at igus make absolutely sure that our chainflex cables fulfil all guidelines and approval regulations and the most important standards worldwide. Here you can find the standards and approvals concerned, and in which regions of the world they play a special role.
Discover all standards and approvals.
Frequently asked questions regarding cables
The maximum tensile strain of a cable is particularly important where cables are used in hanging applications. This is because the cable has to bear its own weight. This is the case, for example, with a storage and retrieval unit (RBG) during the lifting movement.
The maximum tensile strain indicates the force up to which a cable can be loaded without danger, as well as the maximum free-hanging length at which the cable can still be used safely. Depending on the structure of the cable, different maximum tensile strains may result. The maximum tensile strength for cables with copper cores is specified by the VDE 0298-4 standard. Here, the maximum permissible tensile strength for standard cables is defined as 15N per square millimetre cross section of the sum of the main cores.
A calculation example can illustrate the situation:
Assume a CF21.25.15.02.02.UL, i.e. a servo cable with a structure of (4G2.5+(2×1.5)C)C, is to be used hanging for 25m in an application. First, the weight of the cable must be calculated:
F = m x g x l = 0.271kg/m x 9.81m/s² x 25m = 66.5N
How high can the cable be loaded? The main cores have a cross section of 2.5mm², i.e:
4 cores with 2.5mm² cross section each -> 4 x 2.5mm² = 10mm²
10mm² x 15N/mm² = 150N max. permissible tensile strain
As the weight force of 66.5N is less than the maximum permissible tensile strain of 150N, the cable can be used in this application.
With small cross sections, such as those found in bus cables, the permissible load limit is quickly reached. For this reason, igus offers optimised cables especially for applications with particularly high tensile strains. A good example of such a cable is the CFSPECIAL182.045, a CAT5e Ethernet cable. Due to its special structure with an aramid braid in the two-layer outer jacket, this cable is particularly suitable for applications with very high tensile strain, e.g. in hanging installations.
The aramid braiding integrated in the outer jacket ensures that the tensile strain does not act on the inside of the cable, but is absorbed in the braiding. This ensures a longer service life and the good functionality of the cable. Enormously high tensile forces also occur in other applications, such as in forklifts. In such cases, detailed testing and analysis is required to find a suitable solution. The type of movement in this application is also different, as the cable is guided by rollers.
Taking the maximum tensile strain into account is crucial when selecting the right cable. If this is not considered, the cable may elongate, which can lead to defects and, in the worst case, to machine failure.
In electrical engineering, the term medium voltage is used when the electrical voltage is between 1,000V (1kV) and 30,000V (30kV). Depending on the technical standard or country, this voltage range may vary slightly as the term "medium voltage" is not clearly defined everywhere.
In our power grid, medium-voltage networks serve to supply a region with electrical energy. Medium-voltage networks are not used for supra-regional electricity exchange. They are the voltage levels between the high-voltage grid and the building installation. Larger electricity customers, such as industrial companies, hospitals, large swimming pools and larger broadcasting towers, usually have their own medium-voltage connections with an in-house transformer station. For railway power supplies with a traction supply voltage between 15kV and 25kV, the voltage is also referred to as medium voltage.
Large systems such as cranes or conveyor units also require medium-voltage cables for power supply. This is due to the increased energy demand. You increase the voltage to carry a lower current with the same cable. This means that the conductor nominal cross section can be reduced. However, in contrast to the cable network of the fixed installation, these applications require moving parts to be supplied with electrical energy. This requires cables that can be used to implement long travels with increasingly higher dynamics. The medium-voltage cables in these applications must therefore be designed for permanent movement.
It is precisely for these applications that igus has developed the medium-voltage cable CFCRANE. It is suitable for voltages of up to 6/10KV and can achieve travels of 400m and more. Due to the materials used, the CFCRANE can be used for indoor and outdoor applications. Like all cables from igus, the CFCRANE has been put through its paces in our in-house test laboratory. With a bend radius of up to 10xd, the durability of the cable has been proven and it therefore has a guaranteed service life of four years.
The CFCRANE has an outer jacket made of "igupren", a rubber-based material developed in-house. The model with igupren has been used successfully for decades. The material is highly abrasion-resistant and therefore ideal for energy chains. It is flame-retardant, silicone-free and makes sure that the cable has virtually unlimited oil resistance.
CFCRANE in the online shopElectrical voltage or nominal voltage is the energy required to move a charge in an electrical field.
If you imagine a cable as a water pipe, the voltage corresponds to the pressure of the water. The higher the water pressure, the stronger the pipe must be. The lower the pressure, the lighter the pipe can be. This is similar for the chainflex® cables. If there is a high voltage on the conductor, either thicker insulation must be applied or a material that insulates better must be used.
The nominal voltage of the cable serves as a benchmark. Two values are specified here, e.g. 300V / 500V. The first value corresponds to the voltage between the conductor and the protective conductor, which carries no voltage. The second value corresponds to the voltage between two conductors.
Our aim is always to offer the customer the most favourable solution that works!
It is therefore very important to choose the right voltage class.
Customer application examples
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