Available in South Africa directly, polymer energy chain manufacturer, Igus has introduced E4QL e-chain for enhanced cable management and protection, now with increased unsupported lengths and higher fill weights.
“Our industry standard E4Q product has been tweaked,” says Michael Blass, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) e-chain systems at Igus’s head office in Germany. “The new ‘L’ (Lean) variant has been specially designed for users who find our E4Q too large for their application and system.”
“To offer users the advantages of the E4Q in these applications as well and at a lower price, we have developed the L version – the E4Q.64L,” says Ian Hewat, Managing Director (MD) of Igus South Africa. “Depending on the width, the low-cost version of the energy chain costs between 15% and 20% less than the E4Q.”
To reduce costs, the company’s designers have modified the E4Q’s construction. “The aim was to strike a balance between low dead weight and maximum robustness. The side links are narrower than those of the E4Q, reducing the weight. The bionic design, which dispenses with any material that has no load-bearing function, was retained. Tests in the Igus test laboratory prove that the E4Q.64L has an approximately 30% greater breaking moment than the 14240 series, which is also used for unsupported applications. This results in up to 20% more length with the same fill weight,” says Hewat.
The new e-chain can also be operated in two bending directions by replacing the outer link with a special reverse bend radius link. “This means that circular movements can be implemented on a robot’s axis 1, for instance,” adds the MD.
When unlocked on both sides of the e-chain, the crossbar can be lifted out with minimal effort, making the Igus E4QL a lightweight cable management and protection system that can be used in smaller-scale applications without the need to modify it.
Enquiries: www.igus.co.za
