Cable service life is a concern to machine builders and cable users. But 10 years ago, igus was the first industrial company in the world to introduce a 36-month guarantee on moving cables. Now, the plastics specialist is extending the guarantee period for its entire cable range by a further 12-months to four years, giving customers even more operational and planning security.
The extended guarantee, unique in the industry, is possible due to thousands of new customer applications and more than 20 billion additional test cycles in igus’s chainflex laboratory performed in the past decade.
Deciding which cables are strong enough to guarantee the required durability is a worry to companies because many cable manufacturers do not provide binding service life information.
"We want to put an end to this uncertainty, so we have given customers a 36-month guarantee on our entire chainflex range for 10-years, which is rare in the industry," says Justin Leonard, e-chains and cables director at igus UK.
The guarantee has been certified by the US institute, Underwriters Laboratories, also known as UL.
"Valuable expertise in cable operation we’ve gained in the last 10-years means we can now extend the guarantee by a full 12-months, giving our customers even more security," says Leonard.
More than two billion test cycles per year
The very long guarantee period is possible due to the largest test laboratory for moving energy chain systems in the world, at igus’s headquarters in Cologne. chainflex cables undergo over two billion test cycles per year to test their durability.
Data obtained from these tests also forms the basis for the online service life calculator that igus provides. Customers enter the parameters of their application for a cable of their choice, such as temperature, radius and travel. The service life of a cable can be calculated with just a few clicks.
"We have gained so much experience with cable designs, tests, online tools and customer requests that we are increasingly able to identify the right cables for specific applications," Leonard emphasises.
If a cable were to fail during the guarantee period, igus quickly provides a free replacement, which reduces downtime.
Good match for igus’s sustainability strategy
Extending the guarantee period is motivated by igus's drive to make its own products as sustainable as possible.
"Every time a cable breaks, a replacement has to be made and supplied, with a corresponding carbon impact on the entire supply and transport chain," Leonard says, meaning that products that last longer reduce CO2 emissions.
"For this reason, we are constantly working on improving our cables and adapting them to a wide range of industrial applications to increase their sustainability."
Today, the chainflex range comprises over 1,350 cable types from low-cost to high-end options, including bus, motor and servo cables, as well as robot and measuring system cables.
Combining the right materials is the key to the long service life of chainflex cables in energy chains. The products are used worldwide, including in storage and retrieval machines, cranes, lifts, platforms and many more machines.
