Twistable robot cables

When customers ask about robotic cables, they often mean cables that are designed to be soft yet robust. Robots are not the only application in which these properties might be desirable. One thing these applications always have in common is that they are required to perform 3D movement in space. Torsional moment usually acts on these cables in the application. It is therefore better to speak of twistable cables. In this segment, there is a large product range called the CFROBOT families available from stock, which has been tested for torsion angles of up to +/- 360 degrees per metre. These cables are available in different assemblies, depending on the electrical requirements. Of course, shielded variants are also available, and the assemblies in such variants have a different design.

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Shield and filling material
The structure of the robot cables is significantly different compared to the cables for linear applications. Normally, our cables have a very firm and strong internal structure to withstand the special conditions in linear chain applications. In a torsion application, however, there are completely different arrangements. These cables have a very soft structure to compensate for the torsional movements. The difference is particularly noticeable in the shield and the large number of fillers. We have a different shield concept for robot cables. Here we use a shield wrap and not a shield braiding, because with a winding the shield can adapt to the torsional movements and open and close. We have also integrated many fillers into the cable. These have the function of a shock absorber and cushion the torsional movement within the cable.

Robot application

For a robot that welds, clinches, screws or glues thousands of cars every day, things really get down to business. Not only does the cable need the capability to be twisted, it also has to be abrasion-resistant and bendable around small radii. It is a very demanding movement. We have done a lot of research here to make the cable with the chain a reliable system for the robot. In various tests with major automotive companies, in their applications and in specially developed cable testing machines, we gained experience that enabled us to further develop our product families for the most extreme applications. In the past, our customers had to have expensive special designs manufactured in large quantities. Today, however, they benefit from the resulting catalogue product range for robots.

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