Chainflex® cables for E-ChainSystem® are designed for application in linear movements and their efficiency has been proved a million times.
But industrial applications and their necessary motion sequences become increasingly complex, so that special cables are more and more required for torsional movements. The service life of the most differing constructions are yet harder to calculate for torsion applications, as no fixed sizes such as radii, travels or the like, are defined. Shielded cables however are very difficult in torsion applications. Braided shields are generally braided in the opposite direction. Whether a cable maintains the torsional demands is very strongly dependent on the application and type of installation.
Unshielded cables, particularly all bundle-stranded Chainflex® types, could be successfully used in many torsion applications.
In torsional movements the shield litz wires are therefore drawn in one winding direction, and the other turned in the other winding direction. The woven arrangement and the entailing constriction of each winding direction lead to a quick breakage of the shield from the resulting expansion of the shield litz wires.
Example 11: Tested! Completely turned
The new cable CF ROBOT was tested at the igus® laboratory on a specially developed rig for torsion test. The torsion angle thereby amounts to ± 270° for a total cable length of about 2.5 m (tested in different versions of the Triflex® R). Fitted for the test were:
igus® test lab: The cables were tested in movements of ± 270°.
The initial test sample of the CF310 with braided shield and the CF ROBOT were taken after 250,000 movements with a torsion angle of ± 270°.
The analyses (cable taken apart) were undertaken in three part areas respectively of the cable length. In the sample illustrated in Picture 1, distinct damages of the overall shield are noticeable in the upper third of the cable taken apart.
The analyzed samples (Picture 2) of the CF ROBOT (so far samples were taken after 250,000, 1.5 million and 3 million movements). 037 show no damages in the area of the cable or the overall shield even at above 3 million torsional movements of ± 270°.
The detailed analyses (Picture 3) of the shield wires, buffer fibers, PTFE film and the cable show no apparent wear outs. The test is carried out further to determine the maximum service life of the cable.
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