Guiding Trough Extends Chain Life

Guiding Trough Extends Chain Life Igus now offers aluminium guiding troughs as part of a modular construction kit. Users can choose from a basic system or advanced model. The latter has additional components suited the demanding plant engineering sector. Self-supporting energy chains travelling long distances must be guided efficiently and reliably. Traditionally, individually manufactured sheet-metal boxes were used to do this, but today most use aluminium, because it is light and corrosion-resistant.The basic construction kit package is easily assembled because it consists of just four parts: the trough wall, slide rail, clamp, and connector. The extruded aluminium trough wall is lightweight, sturdy, seawater-resistant and can cope with tough environmental conditions.The slide rails are clicked securely into a continuous lateral groove, but can be detached easily.The clamp can be installed internally or externally with just one screw. These mounting brackets facilitate installation work, because the trough components are connected to one another during pre-assembly. In applications on portal robots, machine tools, wood-processing machines and textile machines, plastic wedges are sufficient.Two additional system components ensure the energy chain is guided correctly.One of these is a lateral plastic slide strip, which protects the chain from wear, especially at high speeds and increases the chain's lifespan. Gliding along the plastic has a material-strengthening effect at critical points and also works to reduce noise.If additional sound dampening is required, noise reducing profiles made of EPDM are available. Igus will have samples of its aluminium guiding trough on show on stand 1546 in the Blue Zone at the Offshore Europe show, 4th-7th September 2007.