igus joins Profibus User Organisation

Industrial cable and plastics manufacturer igus has announced that it has joined the Profibus User Organisation as a cable specialist.

According to the results of a study by IHS Markit, Profinet is the industrial Ethernet communication system. Profinet achieved a market share of almost 30% in 2018, based on newly installed nodes.

“Due to the increasing importance of Profinet in moving applications in industry, we have now joined the Profibus User Organisation as a cable specialist,” said Andreas Muckes, Head of chainflex cables Product Management at igus. “Here we want to further advance the development of the technology and make sure our customers can be sure that our cable solutions always meet the current electrical requirements.”

Profinet offers clear advantages for industry: a large amount of data can be transferred at up to 100 Mbps based on the Ethernet protocol. However, this also means that machines and cables must move increasingly more dynamically in a compact installation space: a challenge for standard cables. Therefore, igus has been developing cables that are specifically suitable for use in energy chains and on robots for over 25 years. For Profinet alone, igus offers nine types of cable for different application scenarios.

The chainflex Profinet cables are available in four jacket materials, four bend radii and two torsion angles. The igus product range offers solutions for small installation spaces, maximum speeds and three-dimensional movements with up to ±360°/m on the robot or in free movements. The cables have a number of approvals such as UL, NFPA, EAC and CTP and are available in desired lengths directly from stock. All cables also undergo an extensive series of tests in the company’s own 3800 m² test laboratory. There, for example, the Profinet cable CFBUS.LB.060 completed over 65 million strokes with a bend radius of 63 mm.

”Due to the numerous laboratory results, chainflex cables have a 36-month functional guarantee,” Muckes said. “Upon request, they are also available fully harnessed as ready cable, for example with an M12 round connector from Telegärtner.”