Technologically advanced materials have revolutionised many applications in the industrial environment with engineered plastics able to outperform and outlast steel in heavy-duty applications such as bearings, bushes and protective housings.

They have also enabled modern manufacturers to develop strong and durable solutions for age-old problems such as protecting cables, reducing wear and providing flexible control for robotics and automation through the development of specially produced chain flex energy chains, or e-chains. These can be developed for cables from 3 mm to massive 300 mm hoses in applications that replace festoons, busbars and cable reel drums and also enhance machine operations.

Modern-day cables boast advanced materials that enhance cables’ strength, durability and longevity and are being developed to adopt specific properties required for a range of applications.

German manufacturer, Igus, acts as a global hub and introduces several hundred advanced plastic products and chainflex cables to the market every year. With production facilities across the globe and a fully autonomous local operation, igus South Africa boasts an array of products and materials that are designed to improve equipment and processes.

igus South Africa MD Ian Hewat says the company is actively engaging with industry to introduce new solutions into the local market, such as replacing bearings with greaseless and maintenance-free polymer alternatives on heavy duty excavators, grab hooks and port cranes or high-glide linear polymer bearings that reduce wear and eliminates wear on the shaft of the machine.

“Our e-chains for example allow direct continuous control with no slip rings or joints required for added reliability, while our specially developed chainflex cables are tailor-made to required applications. We have the widest variety of cables specifically for use with e-chains and dynamic applications. Different outer jackets and specially developed internal material have been developed for these applications and provide users with a three-year guarantee for added peace of mind,” says Hewat.

“Having specially developed cables for different applications significantly improves the reliability of the cable systems and provides reduced maintenance and increased lifespans, which in turn increases a system’s mean-time-to-failure. Best of all we have solutions for almost all industries wherever there are moving and dynamic cables for measuring, fibre optics, power, servo cables, control, bus and data systems,” he adds.

Advanced new materials in the manufacture of polymer plain bearings and bushes also allow for the  replacement of a variety of steel and other traditional bearings. igus polymer bearings make use of tribology materials that include polymer, fibre and dry lubricants into the polymer.

They are manufactured with the latest materials for self-lubrication, designed to provide long-term, maintenance-free operation, even in hot, dry and rugged conditions as well as underwater. The standards base materials are available in over 40 options, all providing corrosion or chemical resistance.

The company highlights the uptake of its products in the country’s largest projects on mining drill rigs, metals recycling, high speed packaging plants and throughout the logistics supply chain, from lifting to manufacture, distribution and shipping. The products are also suited to a host of operations within the robotics and automation industries and the company provides low-cost delta robot and linear automation solutions, as well as shafts, linear pads, motors, drives and cable chains for use in 3-D printers, routers, computer numerical control machines and other applications.