With 100 million euros of revenue from cable sales over the last year, igus is maintaining its status as a world leader among cable manufacturers for moving applications in energy chains. Thanks to the industry's largest test laboratory in Cologne, Germany, now expanded to 2,750 square metres, the motion plastics specialist is the only supplier on the market able to offer a 36-month guarantee on all chainflex cables. Increasing industrial automation is prompting igus to make significant investments in innovation, reliability and fast delivery worldwide.

The motion plastics specialist igus revolutionised the cable design for moving applications in e-chains 25 years ago and has been offering motor, control and data cables for specialised moving applications in energy chains through the chainflex brand ever since. The use in energy chains requires specific cable designs to increase the cable's service life and, as a result, the service life of the application. In this area in particular, igus can draw on its experience as market leader for e-chains and on its expertise of more than 50 years with all things plastics-related. "As market leader for e-chains, the advantage at igus is that we develop both energy chains as well as cables. For this reason, we can test and offer both as a system," emphasises Frank Blase, CEO at igus GmbH. igus is having plenty of success in this area. The chainflex business area exceeded 100 million euros in revenue last year, which made up more than 20% of the total revenue at igus. In the Indian market alone, igus generated 250 million INR (3.5 million euros), which is an increase of approximately 25 percent over the revenue from cables in the previous year. The Cologne-based company has 1,040 cables to make up the widest product range on offer with respect to energy chain applications. Of these, no less than 3,200 drive cables at seven price points can be fabricated according to 22 manufacturer standards. Components such as energy chains and cables are fabricated at the Indian office in Bangalore. This ensures that local customers receive their orders more quickly. "The degree of automation in companies is continuously increasing, particularly due to Industry 4.0. At the same time, it is necessary to guarantee an interruption-free flow of data, media and energy," says Blase. "This really motivates us to invest significant resources in innovation, product reliability and fast, worldwide availability, to ensure that our customers receive the best possible ratio of price to reliability."

2,750 square metres of movement for innovation and reliability
Considerable investments are being made in the industry's largest test laboratory. Here, more than 70 cable test machines perform over two billion test cycles per year. On average, 650 cable tests are conducted simultaneously. New test rigs enable fast acceleration speeds of 15 m/s2 over 50 metres; a new cryochamber now allows tests in temperatures as low as -40 °C. Thanks to new torsion attachments and the expansion of the outdoor installation for long travel paths, cable use can be simulated under real conditions. The overall area of the test laboratory increased by 1,000 square metres to a current total area of 2,750 square metres. Thanks to a multitude of tests, igus is the only manufacturer able to offer a 36-month guarantee for all chainflex cables, including torsion cables such as the world's first CAT7 cable for robotics. These tests also allow igus to provide exact specifications in its catalogue regarding bend radii, temperature ranges and service life for special use in the e-chain, in addition to the standard norms. The results from the test laboratory are also used for the five online tools for chainflex and three online tools for readycable. igus has invested significantly in the online area to allow customers to quickly determine the service life in moving applications and find, configure and order the most suitable cables for their particular application.

Worldwide local delivery according to the customer's needs
igus has considerably expanded its production and storage capacity in North America, Asia and Europe to ensure even faster delivery to its customers in local markets. A warehouse expansion is also in the works for the Indian market. With cable production on three continents and 14 storage and assembly centres worldwide, customers receive the exact cable needed for their production system from stock: single, individually cut cables, reeled piece goods, fabricated cables or ready-to-install energy chain systems. igus also offers on-site system installation service.

With increasing automation, quality becomes ever more important
The best possible reliability for the customer is also the goal of igus' unique quality assurance in the production area: 20% of any chainflex batch is always removed and checked for proper function at the test laboratory following an initial visual inspection. igus wants to offer the most affordable cable worldwide that is guaranteed to work every time. But, as Frank Blase emphasises, an affordable price is not everything. "Now and in future, affordable pricing will not be the sole concern of customers. Their primary concern is the quality and reliability of a cable, particularly as it relates to special movements in the energy chain. We consider ourselves the first point of contact for finding a solution for our customers and our 36-month guarantee makes it clear that chainflex lasts."

For more information please visit: http://www.igus.in/Chainflex

About igus India
igus® operations in India started in the year 1998 with head quarters in Bangalore. igus offers widest range of products that includes polymer bearings, igubal® spherical bearings, Plain Bearings and Bushing Accessories etc. which enable them to serve the whole industrial establishments in India from a small work shop to huge industrial establishments.