igus CF.D bus cable monitoring system

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The mechanical loads in energy chains eventually change the transmission characteristics of bus cables. As well as linear travel, this also applies to three-dimensional movements, eg, in the case of dress packs on robots. The result is disruptions in data transmission or even unforeseen plant failures.

The igus CF.D system detects the impairment of the chainflex bus cable in advance. The intelligent system consists of an evaluation unit and a response module that are installed at the beginning and end of the moving bus cable. The evaluation unit is usually placed in the switch cabinet on the fixed-end side, and the response module in the distribution box on the moving-end side. Special data is transmitted between the two for measurement purposes and the cable quality is permanently evaluated by means of the increasing amount of lost or damaged data. If a predefined value is exceeded, the user is alerted via a yellow LED and the switching of a contact. Exceeding a second alert threshold is signalled via red LED and indicates a failure of the bus transmission, so that the error can be quickly located.

The system enables the monitoring of a cable in dynamic operation, without additional measuring wires or sacrificial cables. CF.D integrates itself into the igus isense environment for predictive maintenance. By networking using the igus communication module (icom), the online status and alert display — via a PC, tablet or smartphone — are as visible as they would be via direct integration into the user’s infrastructure.