Cable carrier
Encyclopedia
Cable carriers, also known as drag chains, energy chains, or cable chains depending on the manufacturer, are guides designed to surround and guide flexible cables and hydraulic or pneumatic hoses
Hose (tubing)
A hose is a hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called pipes , or more generally tubing...

 connected to moving automated machinery
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...

. They reduce wear and stress
Stress (physics)
In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the internal forces acting within a deformable body. Quantitatively, it is a measure of the average force per unit area of a surface within the body on which internal forces act. These internal forces are a reaction to external forces applied on the body...

 on cables and hoses, prevent entanglement, and improve operator safety.

Cable carriers may be arranged to accommodate horizontal, vertical, rotary and three dimensional movements.

History

Steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 carriers were introduced to the market for the first time in the 1950s. Nowadays, plastic (specifically, polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...

 or PP) cable carriers are also widely used.

As of 2007 there were more than seven manufacturers worldwide, including FESMA, Murrplastik, igus, Kabelschlepp, Metreel, M Buttkereit, Gortrac and Cavotec
Cavotec
Cavotec is an international engineering group, headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, that manufactures power supply systems for mobile equipment..Cavotec supplies the ports and maritime, airports, mining and tunnelling, and general industry sectors...

.

Structure

Most carriers have a rectangular cross section, inside which the cables lie. Cross bars along the length of the carrier can be opened from the outside, so that cables can be easily inserted and plugs connected. Internal separators in the carrier separate the cables. Cables can also be held in place with an integrated strain relief. Mounting brackets fix the ends of the carrier to the machine.

Besides only bending in one plane due to the rigid jointed structure, cable carriers also often only permit bending in one direction. In combination with rigid mounting of the ends of the carrier, this can entirely prevent the enclosed cables from flopping in undesired directions and becoming tangled or crushed.

Variants

Today cable carriers are available in many different styles, sizes, prices and performance ranges. Some of the following variants are:
  • open
  • closed (protection from dirt and debris, such as woodchips or metal shavings)
  • low noise
  • cleanroom
    Cleanroom
    A cleanroom is an environment, typically used in manufacturing or scientific research, that has a low level of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles and chemical vapors. More accurately, a cleanroom has a controlled level of contamination that is specified by...

     compliant (minimal wear)
  • multi-axis movement
  • high load resistant
  • chemical, water and temperature resistant

Cables

Cable carriers are often used with special highly flexible cables
Flexible cables
Flexible cables, or 'continuous-flex' cables, are cables specially designed to cope with the tight bending radii and physical stress associated with moving applications, such as inside cable carriers....

 to extend the cables' service life.

Application examples

Cable carriers are used anywhere where there is moving automation involving the transferral of energy, data, liquids or gases. Examples include machine tools, cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

, car wash
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...

es, medical and laboratory equipment, automatic warehousing, forklifts, industrial robots, offshore oil rigs and stage technology.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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