igus, a global leading manufacturer of energy chain systems, has increased the voltage to 300V for its chainflex bus cables to enable users to install these cables directly next to cables with a higher voltage level. Previously, all cables with different voltage classes had to be laid separately according to the specifications of the UL testing organisation.

With this new, enhanced and UL-approved voltage class, the user can optimise their technology and save cost and time for the energy chain design.

The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent organisation in the USA that tests various products for their safety. The regulations with regard to fire protection are very stringent. Only tested products receive the UL certifications which guarantees easy distribution of the machines and systems worldwide.

With regard to the cables, the UL stipulates that all cables with different voltage classes in the energy supply system must always be mechanically separated from one another. As a result, the design department had to spend a lot of time and costs in the designing of the energy chain. To reduce this expenditure and improve technology, igus has now increased the 30V UL voltage to 300V for its CF888, CFBUS.PVC, CF898 and CFBUS.PUR chainflex bus cables and received the UL certificate. This means that cables with the same voltage level can be laid directly next to each other. It is now no longer necessary to separate the cables. "And that can reduce the size of the chain and cut down on the installation work required for separators", explains Rainer Rössel, Business Unit Manager for chainflex cables at igus.

A tested solution

The bus cables are available in four cable qualities with PVC or PUR outer jacket. In this way, the user always gets technically the best and at the same time most cost-effective cable that works in motion. The durability of the 300V UL bus cables was also demonstrated in the in-house 3,800 square metre igus test laboratory. Here the motion plastics expert checks all its products for all events up to total failure. In a test with the CFBUS.PUR.049 bus cable with a bend radius of 10.3xd, it withstood 17 million double strokes. Due to the numerous test series, igus can grant a unique guarantee of 36 months on all chainflex cables. For the simple and fast selection of technically the best cable at a reasonable price, the chainflex service life calculator is ideal. Here the user can simply enter the ambient parameters of the application and directly obtain information on service life and price comparison of the different cable qualities.

The igus chainflex cables are unharnessed cables for moving applications in energy chains or for robot applications, fail-safe with 36 month guarantee. The chainflex cables meet the requirements for EMC safety as well as the standards and guidelines such as UL, CSA, VDE, EAC, CTP, Interbus and Profibus. The company provides it in various jacket materials. Their product range comprises everything from control cables, servo cables, motor cables and robot cables to bus cables, data cables, encoder cables and fibre optic cables. The chainflex cables for energy chains work flawlessly over long periods even with many cycles, high speeds and accelerations as well as very extreme ambient conditions.