igus offers a record guarantee of four years on cables

By OEM Update Editorial January 8, 2024 7:24 pm IST

For even more planning security, the guarantee period for the entire chain flex range was extended from 36 months to four years.

If cables break, machines and systems come to a standstill. However, companies couldn’t be sure how long a cable would last—until igus solved the problem. Ten years ago, igus became the first industrial company in the world to introduce a 36-month guarantee on moving cables. Just in time for the SPS 2023 automation trade fair, the plastics specialist is extending the guarantee period for its entire cable range by an additional 12 months, now offering a four-year guarantee. This provides customers with even more functional and planning security. The guarantee, unique in the industry, is made possible by thousands of new customer applications and over 20 billion additional test cycles conducted in the in-house chainflex laboratory over the past decade.

“Which cables are robust enough to guarantee high reliability and durability? This question is a concern for many companies, as numerous manufacturers of industrial cables don’t provide binding service life information. “We aim to eliminate this uncertainty. For the past ten years, we have been offering customers a 36-month guarantee on our entire chainflex range, which is unusual in the industry,” says Rainer Rössel, Head of the chainflex Cables Business Unit at igus. The US Institute Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has even certified this commitment. “Over the past decade, we have gained valuable expertise, enabling us to extend our guarantee promise to four years. This gives our customers even greater functional and planning security,” emphasises Rössel.”

More than two billion test cycles per year
The unusually long guarantee period is made possible by the industry’s largest test laboratory for moving energy chain systems, operated by the plastics specialist at the company headquarters in Cologne. Here, experts conduct practical tests on chainflex cables, subjecting them to over two billion test cycles annually. The data collected from these tests is the foundation for igus’ online service life calculator. Customers can input parameters specific to their cable needs—such as temperature, radius, and travel—allowing them to calculate the service life of a cable with just a few clicks. “We have now gained so much experience with cable designs, tests, online tools, and customer requests that we are increasingly able to find the right cables for specific applications,” emphasises Rössel. In the rare event of a cable failure during the guarantee period, igus promptly provides a free replacement, minimising downtimes.”

Extended guarantee contributes to sustainability strategy
“The primary reason for extending the guarantee period lies in igus’s commitment to making its products as sustainable as possible. “Every time a cable breaks, a replacement has to be produced – with a corresponding CO2 impact in the entire production and transport chain,” Rössel points out. This also means that products that last longer save more CO2. “Therefore, we are constantly improving our cables and adapting them to various industrial applications.” Today, the chainflex range includes over 1,350 cable types, ranging from low-cost to high-end options, covering bus, motor, servo cables, and robot and measuring system cables. The ideal combination of materials is the key to the long service life of chainflex cables in energy chains. Real-life tests conducted over many years have already demonstrated their suitability. These products are used globally, including storage and retrieval machines, cranes, lifts, and platforms.”