Modern machines are moving faster, becoming smaller and having more functionality. Also, with industry 4.0 there is demand for increased connectivity between machines.
These factors mean that there is usually a need for more electrical cables to feed the moving parts of the machines, typically supported and guided by energy chains or cable carriers. The cables, whether for power, signals, data, fieldbus communications, drive or encoder, are therefore required to move in tighter spaces and under higher speeds and accelerations. In addition, the cables must survive higher duty cycles without failure. Often the operating environments are challenging too - such as high or low temperatures, UV, and contamination with oil, cutting fluids or other chemicals.
All of this is pushing electrical cable design harder than ever before.
So, how do you ensure you choose cables with good mechanical properties as well as electrical ones? What should you look out for to ensure you minimise the potential for cable failure on a moving machine?
Justin Leonard from igus is hosting a webinar on 31 January 2017 in which he examines the reasons for cable failures in motion, and looks at the factors you should consider when you select a moving cable that will work reliably for millions of operations.
Follow the link to find out more and to register for the webinar Cables: the weakest link?.