January 2017 – At SPS IPC Drives 2016, the motion plastics specialist igus presented the CFBUS.LB Bus cable – one of several new high-end cable families for continuous movement in e-chains, with an outer jacket made of halogen-free TPE. With these cables, igus completes its range for demanding energy and data supply applications, for example with very limited installation space, very long travel distances or extremely low temperatures.

While igus has significantly extended its cable range in the lower and middle price segment over the past years, at this year's SPS IPC Drives igus is presenting new high-end cables with an outer jacket made of halogen-free TPE. High-end cables from the chainflex range are the right solution when the properties of other cable series are no longer sufficient. The motion plastics specialist igus has now included a new Bus cable series in its product range for the smallest bend radii for Bus cables, down to 7.5xd or even for temperatures down to -35°C.

The core structure of the CFBUS.LB cable is optimised for movement, combined with an inner jacket and the highly flexible, abrasion-optimised igus TPE outer jacket, offering a unique solution when it comes to Bus cables for Ethernet. "The customer will already find several cable series with an outer jacket made of this material in our range, which has proven itself for many years in numerous moving applications," explains Rainer Rössel, head of the chainflex cables division at igus. "To offer them a better choice, we are now offering a Bus cable family for the highest mechanical stress with the new CFBUS.LB." This can be used for all common Bus systems such as Ethernet CAT5, CAT5e, CAT6, Ethercat, Profinet or even the standard fieldbuses such as Profibus. The "LB" in the product name stands for "low bending", i.e. a very low bend radius, in which the cable can be moved in energy chains. In addition to the CFBUS.LB, igus now also offers a control cable and a servo cable with the same outer jacket material. Due to the extension of the range, it has now become even easier for customers to choose exactly the cable that works reliably in their application - without having to pay too much.

Whether for very cost-effective ones for applications with very moderate movements or for the highest dynamics and the most complicated movements, igus guarantees a service life of 36 months on all cables. This is only possible through continuous tests under real conditions in the igus test laboratory. The results make it possible to reliably predict the service life and the specific temperatures and bend radii in which the cable can be safely used.