Flexible cables

  1. What is chainflex®?

    Chainflex®, which could be described as a flexible cable, or a cable that endures continuous flex is an igus® own cable. Known for our effective, sustainable and flexible energy chains, igus® realised that the cables their customers were using inside e-chains® were not of equal quality. For this reason, igus® developed cables that could withstand continuous flex, harsh conditions and were long lasting. After running thousands of tests igus® developed – chainflex®.

  2. What is meant by “dynamically flexible” cables?

    Cables designed, manufactured and tested to work in applications subject to continuous/constant moving operations.

  3. Do they meet BS (British Standard) requirements?

    igus® does not manufacture cables in order to adhere to British Standards as these standards do not apply for cables for use in e-chains®, they are directed more for fixed installations. All igus chainflex® cables are manufactured to improve and optimise the life of the cable inside the e-chain®.

  4. What approvals do chainflex® cables meet?

    Depending on the specific product, chainflex® cables have a wide variety of approvals, including but not limited to:
    DESINA
    DNV
    GL
    UL
    CSA
    CEI
    CE
    CTP
    EAC
    NEK 606
    Mud-resistance
    NFPA
    Flame Retardant
    Clean Room
    Halogen-Free
    Silicon Free
    RoHS Compliance

  5. What is the current carrying capacity?

    The current carrying capacity will depend on the nominal cross section of the core (mm²), the core insulation material, the ambient temperature of the environment and finally the number of loaded cores carry the current at any one time.
    Use this chainflex® online configurator for more information.

  6. Do you offer a heat resistant cable?

    The maximum temperature igus® chainflex® can be used in is 100 degrees Celsius, please check our TPE outer jacket products. 
    Find out more on our temperature resistant chainflex® page

  7. How is chainflex® cost-effective?

    Cost is relative. Our chainflex® products are designed to work in the most arduous applications with guaranteed performance. In this way, they are highly engineered products that help remove risks to our customers and enable them to design high performing products as cost effectively as possible. Certain applications do not require this level of engineering and as such may use cheaper alternative products.

  8. What different cable materials do you do?

    Each product type can have up to 6 different jacket materials, providing mechanically different options for the same electrical requirement. These products include PVC (standard), PVC (oil resistant), igus® PUR, PUR, TPE (halogen free), TPE (flame retardant).
    See our jacket material page.

  9. What is the chainflex® guarantee?

    igus® guarantees the durability and functional safety of its cables, to give machine manufacturers and plants added reliability. The aim is to provide binding statements about the durability of our chainflex® cables when used inside energy chain cable carriers.

  10. How can you offer the chainflex® guarantee?

    Through use of our chainflex® test lab, a laboratory dedicated to optimising and proving the lifetime of all of our chainflex® cables:
    Largest test laboratory for moving cables in the world
    25+ years of experience
    2,750 m² test area
    125 test set-ups
    More than 250 tests conducted in parallel in 58 test facilities
    2 billion test strokes per year
    More than 700,000 electrical measurements per year

  11. How long does your cable last?

    Our chainflex® guarantee, depending on the product, is up to 36 months or 40 million double strokes (whichever comes first). However, using our chainflex® lifetime calculation tools on our website you can gain non-binding lifetime information based on the parameters of your specific application, enabling you to select the most cost effective product that works.

  12. What are the advantages of chainflex® flexible cables?

    At igus® we have the largest range of cable types, over 1,354+ for data, bus, control, drive and hybrid systems. These are availabe from stock, from 1m lengths and can be shipped within 24 hours. 
    Our chainflex® flexible cables are suited for any type of motion: such as horizontal, vertical, torsion, high speed. They are designed and manufactured for special environments and applications such as, cleanroom, oil-resistance, tempertature resistant and halogen-free cables. 

  13. Why are igus® so confident in their chainflex® flexible cables? 

    At igus® we have over 25 years of experience in the field and due to continuous testing in our 3800m² laboratory we are confident in our cables. So confident that we offer up to 4 years guarantee. 

  14. Do you manufacture and supply robot cables?

    igus® has a full range of cables designed for use in robotic (torsion) applications, please check our catalogue or website for CFROBOT. These cables utilize spiral screens in order to achieve up to 360° of torsion over 1m.

  15. What are the benefits of Single Pair Ethernet cables?

    Enables continuous ethernet communication for the control cabinet to the very end of the machine.
    Due to the new design and core configuration requirements, the cable is now 25% thinner than that of our Cat5e cables with the same data transmission rate.
    Installation spaces can be 25% smaller than with, for example, CFBUS.PUR.045.
    Costs are also reduced, up to 20% less than those of a four-paired Cat5e cable.

  16. What are the different types of igus® cables?

    The igus® chainflex® product range includes control cablesservo cablesmotor cables , and robot cables to bus cablesdata cablesencoder cables and fibre optic cables. Find the entire range here.