igus UK is launching Chainflex flexible cables with an innovative rip cord that makes it easy, quick and safe to strip long lengths of cable - and eliminates the risk of the inner cores being damaged by sharp blades. CFRIP enables the outer jacket to be opened - as if with a zipper - to the desired length by simply pulling the special CFRIP tear strip (rip cord). Electrical engineers and panel fitters can not only save 50 per cent (or more) of the cable stripping time typically required using conventional methods, but they can also avoid the need for additional cable stripping tools. The cables are also designed in such a way that the integrated tear strip does not damage the outer jacket or cores during operation.
Justin Leonard, a director at igus UK, says: "At igus we are continually developing products that will enable our customers to work efficiently. This simple method of stripping cable jackets is a neat solution for today's electrical engineers, making it much faster to take off cable jackets and allowing them to get the job done more quickly than before." To strip the cable, the operator simply uses a knife to cut down to the tough synthetic fibre in the jacket for a length of approximately 25mm, then the fibre is gripped with a pair of pliers and pulled so as to tear the jacket open for the required length. For long cables the stripping time can be reduced from 10 minutes to 10 seconds, and the risk of an inner core being damaged with a sharp blade - resulting in a scrapped cable - is eliminated.
igus CFRIP technology is currently offered in the Chainflex CF5 PVC control cable family, where the tear strip is in the outer jacket, and in the Chainflex CF6 shielded version, where the tear strip is in the inner jacket. These cables are very versatile, being highly flexible, hardwearing and resistant to oils. Other types of Chainflex cable integrating CFRIP technology are being considered for launch in the future. igus is so convinced of the benefits of the CFRIP technology that it is not charging any more for CFRIP cables than for equivalent conventional CF cables.
igus Chainflex continuous flex cables are available with no minimum order quantities, cutting charges or copper surcharge. Follow the link for more information and a short movie demonstrating the Chainflex CFRIP cables.