Rotating energy supply system in rotatable wind tunnel balance in automotive industry

In the area of a wind tunnel scale, the electrical and fluid connection had to be solved in a user-friendly way, taking into account the required angle of rotation +- 180°. An independent supply of power cables, measurement and control cables and fluid lines had to be guaranteed while observing electromagnetic compatibility criteria. Another requirement for the cable routing for the wind tunnel scale was to realise the most compact and cost-effective system possible with the shortest possible installation time. The mechanical trough structure had to be very flexible in terms of the connection points to the existing machine frame in order to be able to easily compensate for positional inaccuracies and height differences. Horiba also wanted to use the solution for another electromagnetic compatibility test rig with a rotation angle of +- 197.5°, which is similar in its basic design. The application travels at a maximum of 2°/s.

In close collaboration with the customer, a solution was found to realise both applications, i.e. the cable routing for the wind tunnel scale and the electromagnetic compatibility test rig, with one basic mechanical system. Today, the cables are guided in three energy chains with reverse bend radius (Reverse Bend Radius) of type E4/4 (Series 5050), which are used in different lengths and with different internal divisions. The rotary energy guides move in guide trough and can now realise a rotation angle of up to 540° in one plane in a minimum of installation space. The basic mechanical structure was designed so flexibly in terms of the adjustment options that around 140 assembly hours were saved compared to previous projects. To realise the compact design, chainflex® cables were also used for the power cables.