Used in Shanghai

igus® control cable: highly bending resistant thanks to specially alloyed conductor

The chainflex® CF98 control cable developed by igus® already leads to significant savings in energy chain® applications in tight installation spaces. Shanghai Novel Color Picture Tube Co. Ltd, a Chinese company of the electronics giant Novel, has been successfully using the cable for tight bend radii at its plant in the south-west of Shanghai City since October 2004. The igus® cable, whose conductor was manufactured with a special alloy, even withstands over 30 million double strokes in the energy chain with a bend radius of 4xd and smaller (d = cable diameter). chainflex® CF98, specially developed for the critical area of very small cross sections with particularly tight radii, consists of a highly abrasion-resistant, gusset-filling extruded TPE outer jacket, is resistant to oil and UV radiation and free from PVC and halogen.
Yang Rong, responsible for “Slim Production” at the Novel Color Picture plant in Shanghai: “Space here is particularly tight. That is why we needed a high bending strength cable. “

Novel plant, automated stacking unit

The new automated stacking unit for phosphorous screens in the Shanghai Novel plant used to break down on numerous occasions. Maintenance engineers then discovered that the control cable (cross-section 3x0.25mm2) used next to two air pipes was faulty. Yang Rong, responsible at the plant for “Slim Production”: “The distance here amounts only to a meter with 300,000 double strokes per month. The space for the unit is conceivably small. The bending radius of the e-chain® is correspondingly tight at just 18 mm. ” The control cable with a copper conductor was not able to withstand the mechanical stresses in the e-chain® in such tight conditions. After operating for just one week, the unit had to be stopped for over 20 minutes several times to replace the cable. Yang Rong: “We have eight stacking tables of the same type in our unit. The same problem occurred everywhere and there was interference in the screen feed. ” He puts the costs of lost profits as a result of machine downtimes at 70,000 RMB (around 6,500 EUR) – “that comes to, even at a conservative calculation, 0.8 million RMB a year (around 75,000 EUR),” says Rong.

Reliable in the tightest space

Since the installation of chainflex® CF98.02.03 (diameter: 5 mm), approved and tested for a bending radius of only 4xd, there have been no more operating failures in the Shanghai plant. The particular design difference to conventional cables lies in the conductor material used. Copper is normally used in the widest range of conductor designs. The alloyed conductor in the igus® cable in contrast is softer in its molecular structure, so unlike coppers conductors does not become brittle and fragile so quickly in tight, harsh environments. The new alloy therefore achieves a higher service life. During trials in the igus® laboratory, no damage to the conductors was found even with bending radii of 3.2xd after over 30 million double strokes. chainflex® CF98 is – in over 25 igus® branches worldwide – available from stock, without costs for cutting to size or surcharges for small quantities.

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chainflex® CF98 control cable TPE

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