Robot cables for 3D movements

What is a robot cable?

The complex movements in industrial applications demand twistable and/or three-dimensionally moving cables with a long service life. For example, a movable robot arm generates high bending, centrifugal and torsion forces in a robot cable. The chainflex® robot cables have been specifically designed and tested for this requirement.

A wide selection of twistable chainflex® CFROBOT cables are available, such as shielded single cores, motor cables, servo cables, measuring system cables, bus cables and hybrid and control cables. In contrast to conventionally constructed copper shields with braiding, the CFROBOT generally uses a torsion-resistant, tinned copper shield stranding.

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Chainflex® product finder

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Service life calculator tool

Calculate the service life of any chainflex® cable

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chainflex® robot cable options

chainflex® motor cable CFROBOT

For twistable applications
Flame retardant
Hydrolysis and microbe-resistant

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chainflex® control cable CFROBOT2

For twistable applications
Coolant resistant
Notch-resistant

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chainflex® data cable CFROBOT3

Flame retardant
Outer jacket: PUR
Hydrolysis and microbe-resistant

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Measuring system cable CFROBOT4

PVC-free
Halogen-free
Silicone-free

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chainflex® motor cable CFROBOT6

Outer jacket: PUR
Coolant resistant
Hydrolysis and microbe-resistant

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chainflex® motor cable CFROBOT7

Silicone-free
UV resistance: High
Oil resistance: Oil-resistant

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chainflex® bus cable CFROBOT8

Flame retardant
Hydrolysis and microbe-resistant
UV-resistant

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Hybrid control cable CFROBOT9

UV-resistant
PVC-free
For twistable applications

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Harnessed cables for robots

For a full overview of all readycable® drive cables available you can visit the overview page here.

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Special structure and specifications of a chainflex® robot cable

Cores, stranded structure, shields and jacket materials must compensate for high alternating bending loads as well as cable diameter changes due to torsional movements. Filling elements are used which can absorb occurring forces such as torsions. For this purpose, PTFE elements and rayon threads are installed. This "mechanical stress" differs greatly between cables in a linear e-chain® system and a cable subjected to bending, torsional and centrifugal forces. This cannot usually be determined in advance. The igus® Torsion Test Standard was developed for this purpose. This standard allows a reproducible assessment based on meaningful test results. All CFROBOT cables with a fixed end distance of one metre are twisted at least 5 million times.

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triflex® R readychain® robot hose package

In production plants, high durability of components and the lowest possible downtime are the priority. With a triflex® R readychain® robot dress pack, both are combined and optimised. We develop a customised dress pack system, consisting of triflex® R, chainflex® and igus® connectors:

Eliminate storage costs for cables, e-chains® and connectors
Cut lead times by half
Flexible response to order fluctuations
Minimise your machine downtime
Reduce the number of subcontractors and related orders

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Application example

chainflex® cables for demanding robot applications

Wandres GmbH specialises in the development and production of brushing and air cleaning systems. The safe and careful removal of dust, fibres and the smallest particles on surfaces is a prerequisite for many production processes in order to produce high-quality products. In order to protect the 6-axis robots from mechanical damage, the robot cables were equipped with factory-supplied protective hoses. However, these could not stand the continuous operation and are permanently torn or frayed, causing the whole test facility to come to a standstill.

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