New hygienic cable protection systems from Flexicon

Tim Creedon, Sales and Marketing Director for Flexicon says: "Flexible conduit is a superior and more cost effective means of interconnecting power and data cables compared to traditional cable gland installations, since several cables can be grouped together and mechanically protected within a single cable entry point.

"It means that installations are simpler, faster and save space because only one gland is needed. Future maintenance is also reduced since existing circuits can be replaced, upgraded or added with minimal disruption and fewer cable entry points means that it is less likely that the ingress protection will fail during wash down or cleaning.

"In the face of many potential hazards to cables, including potential ingress of water or dust, corrosion due to chemicals or temperature changes, it is vital that equipment remains operational. Failure of any cabling could lead to downtime, quality issues or potentially even safety issues."

With hazards likely to vary according to the application the new flexible conduits are available with different constructions, but all feature a smooth outer cover manufactured from FDA approved ingredients which has been independently tested to European Food regulation 10/2011. All of these conduits are compatible with our stainless steel hygienic fittings.

The hygienic grade stainless steel (Grade 316L) fittings have been designed in accordance with Food Processing Machinery design Standards EN 1672-2, and Safety of Machinery - Hygiene requirements for the design of machinery EN ISO 14159.

Each fitting incorporates blue compression seals and a blue nut seal to prevent the ingress of food and bacteria. It has smooth surfaces to prevent food or bacterial build up and is available in 16mm to 63mm options in straight metric thread derivatives.

When used with one of the hygienic range of conduits, the cable protection system offers Ingress performance of IP66, IP67, IP68 (2Bar) and IP69. The conduits in the hygienic ranges all have a smooth cover for easy cleaning, are flexible for simple routing and/or dynamic installations and have a reinforced construction for good compression strength.

The ranges include non-metallic and metallic versions, with different colour options. The non metallic version offers a temperature range of -20deg to +90deg and the metallic offer has a temperature range of -20deg to +105deg. The metallic range also features a version with an internal braid layer which can offer EMC performance.

Flexicon can offer over 60 different flexible conduit products to protect safety and performance critical cabling. These products are featured in the new 12th Edition Product & Solutions Guide. For further information including product datasheets or to see a product sample please visit www.flexicon.uk.com.