Robot Cables Reduce Maintenance Downtime

These twistable hybrid, bus, motor and fiber-optic cables from igus meet the demands of increasingly complex movements, such as torsional motion on a robot, that are involved in modern-day automation.

Cable carrier expert igus^® (East Providence, RI) will exhibit in Booth E-5610 twistable hybrid, bus, motor and fiber-optic cables to its torsion resistant Chainflex^® robot cable range, which includes five with a PUR outer jacket.

CF-Robot 9 is a hybrid control cable that is available shielded or unshielded. CF-Robot 8 is a shielded bus cable, while CF-Robot 4 is a shielded position-feedback cable. CF-Robot 6 and CF-Robot 7 are servo-motor cables that are available shielded or unshielded. All five are oil resistant and flame retardant. CF-Robot 5 is a fiber-optic cable with a TPE outer jacket. It is oil and UV resistant and flexible at low temperatures with a minimum bend radius of 12.5X its diameter. CF-Robot is the original single core, shielded cable of the range, which is PVC free and oil- and UV-resistant.

Standard Chainflex continuous-flex cables for cable carriers are designed for linear applications and have been tested over millions of cycles in test laboratories. However, modern-day automation involves increasingly complex movements, such as torsional motion on a robot. Whether a cable can cope with torsional demands is very much dependent on the application and type of installation.

The torsion-resistant requirement for cables in cable carriers is not new, but has seldom been defined. To satisfy this requirement, igus developed a torsion test bench on which its robot cable types are repeatedly twisted. The degree of torsion can be freely chosen and can vary for each test specimen. The test standard is ±180 deg. After a prescribed number of cycles or a negative electrical or mechanical test result, the respective test specimen is taken apart, and the type and position of any damage can be determined exactly.

CF-Robot is suitable for multi-axis cable carriers, such as igus’ Triflex^® R cable carrier, which is designed to protect moving cables and hoses on six-axis robots. Triflex R is able to move through all axes and can twist up to 380 deg per yard, enabling easy movement through complex configurations. www.igus.com